The Hunger Stone; a poem by Rachel Marsh

The Hunger Stone

by Rachel Marsh

 

 

The hunger stone is raw, exposed

to air it does not need.

A carved inscription now in view

explaining how it bleeds.

 

The hunger stone communicates

the famine and the drought.

The water leaves an open scar

on time that’s running out.

 

Each drop of water that is lost,

the hunger stone will mourn.

The river gasps in dying breaths,

its body thin and worn.

 

We could walk past the hunger stone,

ignore its silent screams.

But future generations need

the rivers and the streams.

 

Dry, cracked skeletal riverbeds

may be a ghostly truth.

The hunger stone cries out to us,

it’s not too late to lose.

 

 

Rachel Marsh is a writer living in Hastings. She studied at London Metropolitan University and her work includes children’s fiction and poetry. She has also worked at DLWP as a gallery assistant for many years and is passionate about the exhibitions and the artists who inspire her. 

Posted by Luke on Friday 11 June 2021