Five & Seven Little Words (You Are What Ewe Eat)
©2026 John F. Sendelbach
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
(so eat…)
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
(so eat…)
They’ve been saying it for two hundred years.
A Frenchman said it first, back in 1826—
tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you what you are.
A German took it further: man is what he eats.
But the oldest version is a prayer.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Five and seven little words you’ve heard your whole life…
and underneath them, a question.
So come on—come to the table.
Taste and see.
Somebody’s mama got the pot on low
Breaking the fast in the morning glow
Somebody kneads the bread we need
Somebody bows and blesses the seed
Sit down, settle, bow your head
Say the grace before the grace is said
Reach for the light, come taste and see—
You are what you eat… so eat with me
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
(so eat…)
Careful now, careful what you swallow whole
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
Feeding the body, but you’re feeding the soul
Hold out your bowl, hold out your soul
One may be empty, one may be whole
What are you hungry for? What did you choose?
The spoon’s in your hand—what will you use?
Everybody grazing on a glowing screen
Chewing on the anger, swallowing the mean
They feed you the fear and you were bred on the lie
A hole in the belly that the ad won’t satisfy
They sell you the sickness, then they sell you the cure
Consume, consume—till you don’t taste anymore
They keep you empty, keep you in your seat—
You are what you eat… so what did you eat?
Pass me the bowl, pass the bread down the line
Leave a little for the ones coming behind
Some eat alone in the blue-light glow
Some break it together and watch it grow
A little on your plate, a little to spare
A hand reaching over says somebody’s there
You can fill up the table, you can fill up the hole
But the thing that feeds you has to feed your soul
So eat the morning. Eat the rain.
Eat the river rolling through the plain.
Give us this day—and we’ll pass it on—
We take the host and become the whole
A grace-full body, a grace-full soul
Break your fast on the rising sun
You are what you eat… so we become one
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
(so eat…)
Careful now—careful what you let inside
You are what Ewe eat, so eat
(so eat…)
Become the light, and let the empty die
Hold out your bowl, hold out your soul
One may be empty, one may be whole
What are you hungry for? What did you choose?
The spoon’s in your hand—what will you use?