Poem by Faith Nelson

Two-faced Hunger
​
Stomachs dressed in cardboard
signs gurgle will clean anything
for a living wage. Roots dry rot
waiting for hire. A tesla-patient
mob rushes to click the X
on my pop-up Ad box, making
hectares of my willingness
blink and sputter.
Self responsibility Sir Ma’am 
they say as if they know
the circumstances. Yeah, like
you’ve never needed anything
you’ve never needed anything.
I walk the rim of asphalt
toward the next window.

Hunger.
Talking
about Hunger
who when satisfied
gives me enough mojo
to fake a home address.
Not talking about Hunger
fueling the fortunate in this realm
so that they can go to bed
and fly the imagination.
Food will smack them awake
at sunrise.
Talking about Hunger
gasping a prayer for a pound
of protein packaged veggie
lentil burger mac & cheese
I don’t care Big Mac Big Mac
My body is now a religion
without a living head. Vapor.
Not talking about Hunger
Mahatma Gandhi shapes
into a bullet for the caste system.
Protest fasting’s been chopped down now
even appropriated by some now.
Hunger snaps a rubber band
against my pale lips yet it lays
a pregnant self bare for the other muse  
full of inspiration, verse, fantasy, romance
Greek cornucopias, architecture, inventions
prisons and supermarkets full of xenophobia.
It slings chummy arms through the elbows
of plunderers dot death
and political ’trepreneurs.
This lover air kisses
my dream. It savages
my world into a food
desert, driving back
the lion who once kept
watch, protecting me
from pandemics
and the platform
shoes of the elite.
Now the king
and I step
one then two
with less
conviction.
Don’t waste
your heart.
Untie
Kindness.
The stinging will stop
if you share
your bread for a moment.

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Faith P. Nelson holds a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland and freelances as a tourism copy-writer and indie publishing consultant. She programmed a literary festival and gained years of experience working behind the scenes at BET, Viacom. Bear, her tabby cat, keeps her humble by running away when she picks up the guitar. Water Therapy is her first collection of poetry: https://www.watercoursepublishing.com
[Copywriting, Book Development and Indie Publishing Production Assistance]

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