Hunger

they are parched past participle

Dessicated dehydro jangling on

strings of half-chances.

shadow puppets animated

by southern sultan with caravans

of harems, wenches, and briefcases

bulging with aphrodisiac sacks.

get that drip drop opp,

hang on a hair of hope,

whisper in a dog whistle.

fishhook minnowing miracles

masquerading as Moby Dick.

when only trace remains,

chalk shadows as outlines

of sidewalk corpses splattered.

starving people fight over scraps.

and brothers scrap for loosies

and lost causes between pauses.

fed from crumbs swept off

master’s table and stomped down floorboards

dogs eat down here below the house

in this trench of tripe,

offal and hookworm bellies.  

hushpuppies tossed to night,

send the wolves away from servant slaves

cooking in the smoked hut behind the big house.

this is a hunger that eats itself.

intestine envelopments constricts

acid dissolve tongues and lets us drink

our own tastes and famine.