Pandemic Literature: "The Hunger Pandemic" - A Poem by Aishwarya Lakkakula

The Hunger Pandemic

The clock struck six,

Painting the sky in a blue-black mix.

The town shined so bright,

Bathing in the silent street light.

The blood-fleshed robots on the roads,

Were busy driving their costly Fords.

I sat lonely in the Gokul Chat,

Typing away in a WhatsApp chat.

On hearing a soft whine and a ‘bow-wow’

I made up my mind to look around.

Skimming across the cigarette smog,

My eyes encountered a grey stray dog.

It neither had chubby cheeks,

Nor food since the past few weeks.

The dog was looking thin and pale,

Reminding me of a poor man in a moral tale.

Its food was at the mercy of a daily customer,

Who was sure to save some leftovers.

The dog was hungry and eager,

To get his paws on the leftovers.

The day came to an end,

And I had a new, grey friend.

The clock strikes four,

Painting the sky in a blue-white pour.

The roads are quiet in a formerly busy town

That now, sleeps in lockdown.

I was alone on the roads,

Shocked to see no more Fords.

Lo! I see the grey face,

Lying down in the same place.

It's the dog!

My friend, my friend... I was frightened.

But the dog wasn’t eager to eat leftovers;

It was neither moving nor barking.

The dog died of hunger,

Having stuffed its mouth with a polythene cover.

I let my heart weep silently

And imagined it was just asleep.

This lock-down succeeded in tackling the pandemic

But failed to fight the Hunger Pandemic.

Novel Coronavirus is an extreme danger,

That eats away at the life of a pauper.

                                                                        - Aishwarya Lakkakula (BA 1^st year)