The Kindling

Hunger

Whereas I have been doing this for years,
the aching emptiness a childhood friend
Whereas I lay awake, bones hard
against mattress, the dark painted over my eyelids
Whereas the intestinal growl is also a companion,
I get up, pacing the apartment, starved
Whereas apples have negative calories,
I push two fingers into my throat
Whereas hot acid pours out, a cataract of radioactive,
the fat still there, multiplying, weighing this body down
Whereas the brittle hair and the bruises say otherwise,
I keep going, counting like a thief, wanting less;

 

Angeliki Ampelogianni is a Greek writer living in Oxford. She is currently pursuing an MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University, and holds a BA in English Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.