If I Must Starve

If I must starve,
let it be with dignity in my children’s eyes,
not with my hands tied by silence.
 
Let the world witness
that I did not bow to the hunger
but stood, even as the sky emptied
and the earth closed her mouth.

If I must starve,
let it be while I still cradle my child’s hope,
not as a number lost in footnotes.
 
Let the sea carry my name
to shores that forgot my people,
and let the wind whisper:
she fed love when bread was gone.