"You can't have your cake and eat it, too" - a Poem (and an argument)

HAVE Your Cake and EAT it, Too

“You can’t have cake and eat it too,”

But I don’t think this saying’s true.

Enough for me, enough for you:

repeat until your face is blue.

I eat my slice and I feel full,

It’s sorta like I’m wrapped in wool,

but it’s too tight for me to like.

I think I’ll share with my friend Mike.

I take what’s mine and give the rest

away to those who need it best.

I find that when I take what’s mine

I’m so content that it feels fine

to share a bit, no hording here!

Some even say a cake so near

invites temptation you should fear.

But only if you look, don’t touch;

so touch—yes, do—feel full and such.

The less you taste the more you crave

so taste away and you’ll be brave—

you’ll have the strength to share with friends

There’s ‘nuf to go ‘round ‘til time ends!

So have your cake and eat it, too,

And maybe share with someone new!

Some background:

Have you ever given someone a cake and then thought they were greedy or overstepping if they wanted to eat it? I hope the answer is no.

I understand the phrase deals with the impossibility of having two mutually exclusive things at the same time. But seems to me that it gets bandied about to shame people who dream big, who search for nuance, and who believe in abundance over scarcity.

And we should not encourage scarcity thinking. The dangers of scarcity are real: people then horde, fear their neighbors, and turn against one another. But in abundance? We share, root for each other, and see the humanity in us all.

So maybe, just maybe, if I could have my cake, and eat it, I would be satisfied and that would be the end of that! Perhaps in the act of eating, I would get full and want to share, rather than hungrily staring at one cake as I then try to horde more to satisfy my needs.

So, after being told one too many times at an unfortunate dinner that "you can't have your cake and eat it, too", I present a little poem.