in his mother's arms the boy said ta-ta
to starvation, now lays on the mud floor
his dead eyes blindfolded with a coloured cloth
ready to be buried alongside a crowd
of small mounds of clay where dead children lie

she keeps her son's death a secret so as
not to loose his portion of ration too
to enable feeding his twin sisters, whose
scared eyes witness the life's ghastly drama
unaware of what is in store for them

© SK Iyer

I hid my dead baby so that I could keep food for his twin
Editor's note: This isn't the first poem we've published, associated with this particular story, but such is the gravity of the situation in the Horn of Africa, we make no apologies.
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SK Iyer is a commerce graduate, leading a retired but busy life in Pune, India. His poems have been published. He is a member of PK Poetry List, UK.

She turns to her children
who lie silent-curled beside her,
their bodies bloated with
someone else’s shame.

‘My little ones,’ she says,
her lips as dry as crusts.
‘The clever people have
found water on Mars.’

© Fran Hill

Mars: Nasa images show signs of flowing water
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Fran lives in the West Midlands (UK). She teaches English in a local secondary school, writes, performs, blogs, tweets and tries to resist chocolate.

What kind of zealot
By oppression and denial
Would further starve
The very bodies, minds and souls
Of his brothers, sisters
Who through famine
Linger, emaciated
As death waits
Expectedly, hungrily
In the shadows?

What kind of zealot
Would refuse
Western, Christian aid
As his people
Who long to live
Sweep up innocent tiny
Scraps of life,
(Who suckle hungrily
At arid breasts)
And trudge wearily
On perilous journeys
For weeks, days
To escape
The ever expanding
Famine zone?

What kind of zealot
Believes his God
Will allow him
Entry to Heaven as
He watches, weeping,
As mankind, His creation
Spews evil in His name?

What kind of zealot
Truly believes that
Allah by His judgement
Will allow him entry
To Heaven by His mercy
And not cast him
Into Hell by His justice?

© 'Anna'

Somalia's Hungry Need Urgent Help
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I am passionate about my world and write my feelings in both poetry and prose. I live in the UK and for personal reason prefer to remain just 'Anna'.
Anna says: "I realise that the reasons for the famine are complex, global politics have played a part and interest in providing aid by some governments is driven by Somalia’s oil production – but nevertheless for Al-Shabaab to deny a problem and deny aid horrifies me."