Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Poetry
Hunger
It is not food I crave,
But the ache of being filled.
I want to eat light,
To bite into morning,
To chew the sound of rain as it slicks across the glass.
I want to swallow laughter raw,
To taste joy as if it were fruit; pulled flesh from the tree,
Still dripping with sun.
I want to devour the sky,
Its blue vastness pressed to my tongue,
The stars ground fine as salt against my teeth.
Sometimes I think my hunger is a wound,
A hollow stitched-wire inside me,
An emptiness that echoes when I breathe.
But sometimes
I wonder if the hunger is what keeps me alive-
The reaching,
The wanting,
The endless opening of the self
Toward something larger than itself.
I do not fear the ache anymore.
Jane Wu is a student living in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her writing is shaped by growing up between cultures and paying close attention to the small, ordinary moments that end up revealing something bigger. She’s drawn to the humour hiding inside difficult situations, the push and pull between strength and vulnerability, and the small, everyday negotiations involved in becoming yourself. Jane writes with curiosity and care, and tries to be honest rather than dramatic. She found The Letter Review through school, and is grateful for the chance to share her work.