Poem by Gabby Gilliam

When Schools are Soup Kitchens

She doesn’t raise her hand
when the teacher asks
who wants to order
the free snack/supper
even though she knows
she will go hungry.
No one else raises their hand.
​
He shrugs and tells his friends
he isn’t hungry, covers
his growling stomach with laughter
because he’d rather starve
than his classmates discover
his lunch account is empty
again. Dining with dignity
impossible when nothing
at school is anonymous.

Her teacher slips
bags of chips into her desk
while they are in P.E.
so her classmates won’t see.

The counselor fills
his backpack with boxes
of mac and cheese
and cans of beans
a bag of rice
so he won’t go hungry
over the long weekend.

Bandaids
on the gaping wound
of their hunger.

Click on the file below to listen to Gabby read the poem:

when_schools_are_soup_kitchens.m4a
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Gabby Gilliam lives in the DC metro area, more specifically Montgomery County, Maryland. Her poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming from, The Chesapeake Reader, The Fredericksburg Literary Arts Review, and Tofu Ink Arts Press. Her short fiction will appear in a forthcoming anthology from Black Hare Press.

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