Poem by Martin Chivaku

Throbbing Belly

​When I was six,
I appreciated everything they did
Honestly... I appreciated!
 
It was probably by design, or
It was probably by default...
But I appreciated everything...
They did...Honestly!
 
Now my belly throbs like a growling bear
I honestly enjoy every moment of being,
Rebellious...Divided we’ll learn how to stand!
 
Meditating on the last night
I made my jaws dance,
I become as angry as a fasting lion in the jungle.
 
But a few years ago, I appreciated everything
Honestly...I appreciated everything they did!
 
They could tell me Jesus represented
A certain race,
Like what!? Isn’t that racism? But my belly was full
So I understood where they came from
But now my belly sings the songs of
Kunta Kinte heading to the west,
I comdemn everything they do!
 
Cutting nails with my teeth isn’t a hobby
But a poor man’s way of feeding...
Call it what you want, cannibalism or
Something but a man’s got to survive!
They call it, “desperate times vis-à-vis
Desperate measures”... Who’s got the ruler,
To measure the intensity of the desperation?
 
I appreciated everything they did
Honestly...I appreciated!
But my token dropped into the manhole
And I no longer appreciate!
 
I’m starving but...
It started as a means of staying healthy
Until my health began falling into the same pit
That dinosaurs fell and became extinct...
I’m hungry...Like I could join the Lord
In his forty days, forty nights fasting
And still find no food to break the fasting!
 
What option do I’ve, besides listening to Lucifer
When he tells me to turn the rock into bread?
A no! Is the perfect answer but my belly is empty
A yes! Is selling my soul, but my belly is empty!
 
I got food on my mind and how
I’m going to get it
Doesn’t matter, as long as I’m not hungry...
They said, “be careful what you wish for...”
What? I wish for food in my mouth
And how I get it is my business
And none of your business!
 
I used to appreciate everything they do
Honestly...I appreciated!
But I don’t anymore because I’m hungry
And hunger will kill me if I appreciate them.
 
Playing hunger games and I’m losing,
Only if I can get her to dig my ways.
I’m hungry to know her...But
How do I get to know her when I haven’t met her
And how can I meet her when I don’t know her?
Like fifty shades of grey are my hopes
And fifty shades of black are my chances...
So it seems like, I’ll always stay hungry.
 
I appreciated everything they did
Honestly...I appreciated!
But a hungry man is what I became
From appreciating their prodigality,
So please pass me a plastic plate,
With fruits, even the forbidden
Is now unforbidden because I’m hungry.

​Martin Chivaku, his birth and stage name, believes that poetry is a means of communicating with the world and as a poet, he considers himself a messenger or a tool to address issues that affect us on a daily basis. He has also written more than 250 poems and is still not stopping. He lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.  

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