Hunger

It was hard to believe the flesh was heavy on my back.
The fisherman said: Will you have her, carelessly,
trailing his nets and his nerves, as though his words
sanctified the purpose with which he faced himself.
I saw his white bone thrash his eyes.

I followed him across the sprawling sands,
my mind thumping in the flesh’s sling.
Hope lay perhaps in burning the house I lived in.
Silence gripped my sleeves; his body clawed at the froth
his old nets had only dragged up from the seas.

In the flickering dark his hut opened like a wound.
The wind was I, and the days and nights before.
Palm fronds scratched my skin. Inside the shack
an oil lamp splayed the hours bunched to those walls.
Over and over the sticky soot crossed the space of my mind.

I heard him say: My daughter, she’s just turned fifteen…
Feel her. I’ll be back soon, your bus leaves at nine.
The sky fell on me, and a father’s exhausted wile.
Long and lean, her years were cold as rubber.
She opened her wormy legs wide. I felt the hunger there,
the other one, the fish slithering, turning inside.

“Hunger” by Jayanta Mahapatra is a poignant and evocative poem that delves into the harrowing experience of physical and emotional hunger. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of an unnamed narrator who finds himself entangled in a distressing situation, grappling with the weight of the flesh and the depths of human desire.

The poem begins with a shocking image: the heaviness of flesh on the narrator’s back. This stark portrayal immediately sets the tone for a narrative that explores the burdensome nature of existence. The fisherman, a seemingly indifferent figure, introduces the prospect of a solution to this heaviness, but his careless offer suggests a detachment from the gravity of the situation.

As the fisherman nonchalantly trails his nets, there is a sense of sanctification in his words, as if his actions are ordained. The juxtaposition of his casual demeanor with the weighty predicament of the narrator creates a disconcerting tension. The mention of the fisherman’s white bone thrashing his eyes hints at the internal struggle and conflict within the narrator.

The journey across sprawling sands becomes a metaphorical trek through the complexities of the narrator’s mind, with hope perhaps lying in burning down the house that represents his lived experience. The silence gripping the narrator’s sleeves and the imagery of the fisherman’s body clawing at the froth suggest a pervasive sense of despair and futility.

Entering the fisherman’s hut, the narrator encounters an atmosphere laden with darkness and suffering. The oil lamp’s feeble light exposes the passage of time marked by soot, symbolizing the accumulation of anguish within the narrator’s consciousness. The fisherman’s revelation about his daughter’s age adds another layer to the narrative, introducing an element of moral conflict and exploitation.

The final stanza takes a chilling turn as the daughter’s physical vulnerability is laid bare. The description of her years as “cold as rubber” conveys a sense of emotional detachment and desensitization, perhaps a coping mechanism against the harsh realities of her existence. The explicit depiction of the daughter’s intimate encounter and the reference to the fish slithering inside allude to the degradation and dehumanization resulting from the insidious hunger that pervades the poem.

In conclusion, “Hunger” masterfully explores the intertwined themes of physical and emotional hunger, exploitation, and the dehumanizing effects of desperate circumstances. Mahapatra’s use of vivid imagery and metaphors creates a haunting atmosphere that lingers, compelling readers to confront the harsh realities of the human experience.