Full bellies
This is a “Poem of the Day” feature piece
Poor of means And a laborious survival instinct Led my hands to crack open Along the dark brown seams of my palms Then when I reached out For the front door Or anything off the porch My grasp was broken By the splitting pain of marginalization
I filled my life With the riches of survival Thrifted clothes and cramped apartments I familiarized myself with the coupon section of the newspaper And wasted not Surviving beyond my means I focused on filling my stomach With hearty meals that costed me little And allowed my body to carry me Though my soul starved
©Ama Akoto (2018)