Poem by Patience Gumbo

Hunger
 
It rumbles
Like the sound before a thunderstorm 
An inner ache, like that of a woman in travail follows after
I toss and turn and hope 
Tonight will be better 
My mind wandering every second of every minute of every day
When it shall be full to the brim and running over 
Then will I appreciate scarcity in times of abundance 
Or treasure abundance in a spell of scarcity
Still it remains a dream
Worth waiting for 
As I beg for the crumbs off the masters table
Daily we scramble with the township canine,
The stronger always win in battle
I would be wise 
And decide to forget how life on the other side was like.
 
Hunger 
You define me not
Yes we lay side by side, shadow to shadow 
Still you define me not
There is still an ounce of sanity in me
Yet a little milk, a little meat
A little scent of fresh pie
Baked to perfection 
Would go a long way
Taste buds running wild as the rich flavours form a union
But fate has favoured the poor with lack 
As the rich are endowed with more riches 
 
The true taste of my own saliva has become so sweet 
While few months' debris from chewed green leaves, are safely tucked away between my teeth.
 
I wish to see your face 
And stare deep within those lifeless eyes 
What guts you have 
Your desires to wipe all humanity;
as you stand akimbo with your twin kindred corruption and disease 
Adamant to infest all in its path
Til none whimpers, sighs or groans
 
Still we found you here
And remain here you shall 
Oh when shall your scorpion's sting lose its edge
Hunger my foe
Never my mate
Never again welcome but fade away into thin air
Into the dust 6 feet under
beneath the shadows where none can see your hand.
Go and return not 
We don't want you here

Known as Patience Essence to her poetry fans, Lingiwe Patience Gumbo lives in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe and writes motivational literature and is also a recording artist and songwriter who is inspired by her faith, love and life situations.  A voice of the voiceless, Patience is in the process of publishing her first poems anthology titled Words of Life.

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