“Hungry” A Sonnet by D.A. Gatlin

Empty cupboard, open up!

You great deceiver, temptress of my gut.

Beneath your bare shelves lies a dusty cup

And now this vacant abyss has widened my rut.

I’ve been betrayed by your companions before

Pantries, paper bags, and freezers outside

But most of all our dear refrigerator.

For within her porcelain womb where food once lied,

I now see only fields of mold.

As the casserole clings to life

And the uncovered package of cheese once gold

Festers, MADDENS to an unholy color of strife

I reflect, “Oh spoiled terror! Let me consume thee and end this tragic suffering!”

But I am stayed when my wife enters and tells me a pizza is coming.