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Hunger Poems

You are encouraged to read the poems posted here and elsewhere on the

Poetry X Hunger website, to look  
at 
the historic accounts of hunger,

famine and starvation, or consider the ​prompts suggested and then...

​write some poetry about hunger.
 

Poem by Christina Daub

3/28/2023

11 Comments

 
CHARGE

After the lion finishes grooming
his singular body with rough licks,
after the porcupine waddles away,
after night devours the sun,

the dark tail twitches, new scents 
worry the air, the lion stops resting 
under his rock, his large claws 
scraping the dust.

Hunger moves with the pride.
It leaps and drags, and chews 
until the bones dry inside. 
A lion may outrun a goat, or not.

Hunger is outrunning the earth.

Click to hear the poet read the poem.

Picture
Christina Daub is a Pushcart nominated poet & translator. She has taught poetry and creative writing at George Washington University and other schools in the DMV area. She lives in Maryland.

11 Comments
Laureen
4/13/2023 01:15:56 pm

I love the sensory feeling of this poem, it’s movement and pacing in the animal imagery and it’s visceral over-the-cliff last line.

Reply
Ellen Meyer Shorb
4/13/2023 05:04:31 pm

O honey, this is artistry! Wow. Powerful, elegant. This one, from another world. Hunger is outrunning the earth...

Reply
Christina
4/13/2023 05:28:52 pm

Thank you, Ellen! I hope it will help raise awareness !

Reply
Tommy Bruce
4/13/2023 06:18:20 pm

I so enjoy the movement and finality of the action. So alive. Thank you.

Reply
Ricard
4/13/2023 08:42:04 pm

The ending of this poem devastates. Lions help each other get food. We need to do the same.

Reply
Christina
4/13/2023 10:10:16 pm

Yes we do!

Reply
mike
4/14/2023 01:09:47 am

This compelling poem speaks from the midst of our moving pride: know the awful speed and destruction of hunger, do not let it win!

Reply
Ingrid Hass
4/14/2023 05:27:12 pm

This poem has strong images and leaves me trembling.

Reply
Sandy Kenyon link
4/15/2023 05:53:33 pm

Deeply evocative like so many of Ms. Daub's poems, but also a stark warning with lines that like "new scents, worry the air." Like others I was rocked by a killer last line that makes clear the high stakes, reinforced by every word of this brilliant poem! A "Charge" for all of us, and a challenge.

Reply
Sheila Ratcliffe
4/18/2023 02:54:08 am

“The lion stops resting under his rock”, as we should.

Reply
Hiram Larew link
8/10/2023 11:32:00 am

Thanks to all who have commented on this powerful poem by Christina Daub. We are proud to showcase it on the Poetry X Hunger website.

Reply



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  • Home
  • About
    • About the Initiative
    • Initiative Founder
    • Advisory Board
  • Hunger Poetry
    • Hunger Poems
    • World Food Day Poetry Competition >
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
    • Maryland Poets
    • International Poets
  • ART
  • News & Blog
  • Young!
    • Poems by Young Poets
    • Videos
    • Materials for Teachers
  • Library
    • Extent of Hunger >
      • Global Hunger: Progress & Challenges
      • Hunger in the US
    • Historic Accounts of Hunger >
      • Africa
      • The Americas
      • Asia
      • Europe and Russia
    • Historical Poems
    • Interviews
    • Recent highlights
  • Contact/Submit/Take Action
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Call to Action
    • Resources & Donations >
      • Global resources
      • US resources
      • Maryland resources