Poem by Nya Epps

Bully

Hunger is a disturbance
It discomforts me and lacks sympathy
It tugs at my stomach
Like a child wanting attention from their mother
 
Then I have to tell to tell it, “wait a second”
 just so I can focus on my academics
 
The more and more effort I put into this lesson,
the more I realize that this pain is not irrelevant
So I drop my pencil and unlock my phone
 and push the Instagram icon to watch “mukbang” videos
 
As I sit and watch energized people stuff their faces
 with mozzarella-filled corn dogs
It makes it easier to imagine satisfying flavor
 
Oh, how I desire the taste of salty cheese and the crisp fried layers covered in ketchup and mustard
Oh, how I desire the comfort of a excellently seasoned piece of salmon and asparagus with a side of fluffy mashed potatoes
 
Even when I’m at home, my hunger haunts me and lingers like a ghost
When I’m watching TV and “My 600 lbs Life” comes on
The unnecessarily obese can binge on 3 course meals to cope and find comfort
When I only have a bag of chips in the cupboard to tell my hunger to “shut up and move on to another” 
See, I can’t get that same comfort nor can I cope with the bully named HUNGER