THE VOWELS AND BOWELS OF HUNGER

jerry KWATCHEY
@kwatcheyjerry128608
21 days ago

#poetry
THE VOWELS AND BOWELS OF HUNGER
A Reflection from the SIMU Collection


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A
E
I
O
U

These are the vowels of language…
But when hunger choke, they turn to the bowels of survival.

Because when hunger grips you like a toxic relationship,
every vowel begins to sound like food:

A — Abeg, who get banku?
E — Ei! My stomach dey echo like empty cathedral.
I — I fit eat anything right now, even pure water sachet.
O — Omo, hunger don defeat my pride.
U — U go see me soon for roadside dey negotiate with plantain seller.

When the vowels align with the bowels,
grammar dies…
philosophy pauses…
creativity vanishes like the last jollof in the fridge…

And only one universal language remains:

> “Guy, where the food?”



Even your ancestors start whispering:

> “My child… eat first… wisdom can wait.”



Even the cunning God of Becoming, who dodges algorithms and the Blade,
no fit dodge this one —
hunger cuts deeper than metaphor.

Hunger has no respect.
Hunger has no manners.
Hunger does not queue.
Hunger simply activates its stomach soundtrack:

“Grrrrrr—rrrr—rrr—r….”

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