2003 Langston Hughes Poetry Contest Winners

In the Belly of the Beast
by Patricia McCann London of New Orleans, LA

One by one they have been over powered and brought down like animals.
They have been chained and beaten and marched into the mouth of a great
beast that sits in the water, quietly and patiently waiting for its portion.

The water playfully laps at its tongue as they are pushed and pulled and
shoved into its mouth, never to be seen again.

This beast, which happily devours, seems to smile
contentedly as it's belly becomes full.

It's caretakers, whom seem to be some sort of men,
celebrate by drinking a foul smelling liquid,
throwing their heads back and howling up to the sky.

The beast pulls in its long, stiff tongue and closes its mouth.
With the help of its care takers, it begins to leave the shore.

Inside of this beast's belly there is a smell of sickness and death.
The air is suffocating.

This beast has eaten before.
Its belly is full, yet it continues to gorge itself.

The remnants of its most recent meal lay chained
one to the other. Unable to move comfortably,
packed together in their own waste.

Death is all around. Bodies swell and split open.
The caretakers remove these spiritless vessels and
deliver them to their watery graves. Freedom at last,
but at what price? They have become sacrifices
to an ungodly god.

Infection sets in as shackles cut wrists and ankles.
Hair that was once worn majestically is now decorated
with spew.

The beast glides swiftly through the mighty water for days.
The contents of its engorged belly rocked to and fro.

Back to Tom Dent Literary Festival, 2003