Insatiable Hungers

There are two kinds of hunger.
Survival hunger and 
The hunger for reassurance. 

Survival hunger is midnight skin 
And coffee eyes,
Reaching out desperately through
Harsh desert winds, 
Knees and ribs jutting out 
Miles into the air, 
Apparently invisible to the 
Plush bodies of those on the other side
Of an uncrossable sea. 

The hunger for reassurance is
Feeling pity for those massive eyes
And trembling lips that glow out from
Our flat screen televisions. 
Yes, how horrible for them,
But look how blessed we are, 
Let us hold plump hands and thank someone
That we did not get 
The short end of the stick. 

Survival hunger is
Being too terrified to close your eyes. 
It is the growling tummies of children
Punctuating the night's sounds. 
It is traveling in a pack 
Because going alone would mean 
Falling into the paws of a lion. 

The hunger for reassurance. 
Clinging to our smartphones so that
We may catch the latest news story, 
Watching terror bloom across our screens
And sigh,
Then reopen Twitter. 

One hundred and forty characters tops, 
Let it reassure you that your supposed friends
Your... followers 
Know your each and every fleeting thought. 

Survival hunger. Your followers are 
Orphaned children whose parents
Were killed in cold blood, were killed
Because they prayed to someone that
The people with guns didn't like. 
These children follow you,
Or die. 

Both hungers are bottomless. 
There will always be too many ribs visible, 
Too many tiny hands trembling with fatigue. 
There will always be a deep, first-world need 
To reassure ourselves that we've got it all 
So that we sleep well when we turn out the lights. 

The world is unbalanced and threatening to capsize, 
But we could set the scales right again, 
If only we filled their bellies before
We filled our guilty conscience, which always seems
To  be looking over its shoulder. 

Reviews

[DoormanDan]

A very strong and powerful poem indeed. I love your descriptions of the different kinds of hunger this world faces nowadays. As usual, you have written somethin true and meaningful. Awesome job! :)

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you!

[Haeshin]

There's an impressive contrast between the types of hunger, and the imagery for the survival type is especially strong.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you!

[Einstein Noodle]

biting social satire .. horrendous accusations to nations .. not sure what to do with the heaviness i feel right now .. there remains the bulk in the middle that want to do more but can not .. children of their own you know :( .. i think this is heavily packed to rack the guilty .. and i think you did so with vigor!
wow! still catching my breath .. good will to you Falling!!
E.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you, E!

[MomzillaNC]

It's in our natures to compare. But, it's sad that we take comfort for ourselves in comparison with those less fortunate. Would that more were motivated to share their plenty.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you!

[MomzillaNC]

yw :)

[dan]

It makes me sad to think that so much money is being spent on electronic baubles when it can be used to do so much good. We should not forget that starving kids are not an exclusive problem that we are insulated from because we're fat and happy at the GOOD side of that uncrossable sea. They are our neighbors, our own. The world right now is in a terrible state, and even if we got rid of smart phones, Twitter and Facebook and selfies....the sorry state would still be there, just with less distractions for us in our "Everything!! Now!!!" society. I would hope that your poem could affect change and fix some of these "fixable" problems, but I'm afraid it's just as effective as one tweet out of a billion. Thank you for this enlightening write. take care...dan

[Falling Leaf.]

Yes... like Gandhi, if I were wealthy, I'd give it to my community. Thanks for the read!

[dan]

Falling Gandhi? It DOES have a certain ring to it. Truth be told, I do have a cell phone (a TracFone) that has a camera but I have never uses it, especially for a self-serving selfie. No disrespect to those that do, it's probably more a generational thing. I hate seeing my own picture; that one that accompanies my profile is the only one on my computer, and it's 9 or 10 years old. I look the same now, just a bit heavier, a bit grayer and my hair is longer. But I digress. If I did use a camera and wanted to take a pic of some landmark I sure as hell wouldn't want my face in front of it! That guy who told you to trim the fat?! He's entitled to his opinion but I think that every stanza in your write is integral to its message. My opinion. Very nice write indeed. take care...dan

[Falling Leaf.]

Why thank you, Dan. :)

[Coyote Poetry]

A hard topic discussed in the poem.
"If only we filled their bellies before
We filled our guilty conscience, which always seems
To be looking over its shoulder. "
Hunger is forgotten by Government with fighting ghost and new wars. I saw the hunger and starvation in Africa. Taught me. Hunger need the attention of the whole world to fix. Reassurance become just words for people seeking answers over repair. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Falling Leaf.]

Thanks for the read. :)

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome.