Hunger Games: A poem by Gomathi Mohan

Admire the invincible power you get to wield,

Over one sitting in a chilled chamber or toiling in the field.

More we cater to your cravings, more your airs a la' prima donna,  

From a humble Miss Muffet burgeoning into a Madonna.

With equal elan keep me twisted  around your fingers,

Whetting my appetite as your ravenous pangs linger.

Send me scampering downtown to find for you a bite,

Or rustle up in a jiffy, something filling yet light.

Breaking all barriers of epicurean decency,

On smelling out a sapid, delectable delicacy.

How I struggle to rein in your esurient urges,

Which, with every passing second, by leaps and bounds surges.

All energies, thoughts, time and money I spent for skills to hone,

Sapped before your whims, stomach cleaving to my backbone.  

But then, you do puzzle me with an amazing demeanor,

How come you vanish on feeding famished and the poor?

As their hearts fill and bless, mouths curving into a smile,   

Seeing them saved from inanition, you wait in the wings for a while.

Then all hell breaks loose and you go kaput,

Bulldoze me into your hunger games, running its gamut.

Hunger for learning, books, love to share and care,

Never ever satiate but to put them on hold, one can dare.

Not so with hunger the leveller, has eyes and nose, no ears,

Keeping us on tenter-hooks, won over by seers.