The Claws Of Famine

• Adele Parkyn, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2022

You feel empty.
The last slither of hope, ripped from your feeble grip.
The unwavering hunger swallowing you from the inside out.
Hunger like the claws of a lion, digging in, cutting deeper every day.
Cutting deeper when your parents come home empty handed,
and when another innocent child is stolen by the claws of famine.
Claws that leave you weak and helpless.
The relief of sleep won’t come.
The hunger relentlessly pulls you down,
like a ball and chain when you’re trying to keep your head above water.
You’re weak and defenceless, like a newborn baby.
The relief that comes is never enough.
You dream of a river, but all you see is a trickle.
Your parents eat nothing, just so you can have something.
Stress and fear, visible behind their strained smile and brief reprieve.
Will there ever be enough?