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The following poems were inspired by Diane Wilbon Parks' artwork, Poetry X Hunger Logo, which appears on the Poetry X Hunger website--ART - Poetry X Hunger. Childhood Want in Nigeria In my childhood want I had small sized unleavened bean cakes, sugar-free millet or corn pudding and less sweetened beverage for breakfast. I never had Christmas chicken, the traditional cedar lights, Santa' attractive delights, and the ambience of advent. Each seasonal necessity was a luxury. My indigent 'hood' was drenched by the torrential rains. And I played, ran across and often sank into the soft miry land. I once borrowed a footwear from my reluctant neighbour. He very grudgingly gave me what seemed to look like medieval chopines that looked suitable for the entire neighbourhood's quagmire. I lost them both on a rainy day's deluge in the Stormy month of may. To pay back what I'd lost, my enraged mum meticulously saved her hard-earned wages of a Fortnight and two days. Urban Poverty in Nigeria I was birthed and raised in one squalid abode, In the shanties of Nigeria’s urban hell. My consanguineal kinship could only give less within incomes below a four score threshold. My physical growth was stunted by near marasmic growth stimulants. Bereft of all that mattered, I bemoaned my undesirable state. I scavenged from kitchen debris to get my fill. I roamed the alleys scantily clad with fabric pot holes. I improvised my own play delights from discarded wastes like empty sugar packets, unwanted chiseled wood, bottle tops and in some cases, empty cans. At bedtime, I had limited space on crowded sheets, air tight spaces stemming from so much nasal pressure, and in most cases, vermin that sucked my body ketchup. My God! The scar of childhood poverty could be much deeper than imagined!  Joseph C. Ogbonna is a widely published poet. His works have been published in magazines, journals, anthologies, self-published volumes and in online blogs. he lives in Enugu, Nigeria.
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The following poems were inspired by Diane Wilbon Parks' artwork, Poetry X Hunger Logo, which appears on the Poetry X Hunger website--ART - Poetry X Hunger. Hungry Baby I have a cute baby sucking his fist. Whilst rooting, he turns his head for a nipple. He sucks on and on with a lip smacking. He tries to sob but he instantly smiles. Instinctively he turns to strip my chest, But he gets frustrated to feel a flat one. Awakened by pressure, his stomach yearns! More and more alert, more and more active, He repeatedly gnaws his tender fingers. Fussiness sets in, as much as petulance. Then he wails with an obliterated grin For breast milk or a feeding bottled cereal. Hungry Nigerian Oh God, here am I! I am Nigerian and indigent I am Nigerian and destitute I have a vacuum in my stomach I have a future that is bleak and most uncertain I have no adequate instructive tools of global standards. The morgues around me are pretentiously Designed to maintain, restore and promote My mental, physical and emotional state. But they always consign me to depths, six feet From the flatland. The pathways I see are death traps with holes Created for my untimely exit. My empty stomach yearns most of all For its fill. My daily bread is inflated away, Leaving a void in a stomach abuzz with the cries of hunger. A void created by none other than my political bigwigs. My usual small sized unleavened bean cakes, Sugar free millet or corn pudding, and less sweetened Beverage for breakfast, have all with the memories Of the good old days gone by. Scarcity prevails as much as it looms large. I can only feel the noises and complaints of my empty stomach. Each passing day I feel the volcanic eruptions herein, With hardly any succour in sight.  Joseph C. Ogbonna is a prolific poet from Nigeria. He is very widely published in magazines, journals, anthologies, and online blogs. He resides in Enugu, Nigeria.
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