My Hometown Has an Insatiable Appetite
A poem
Every year
I stare it down
perched on the tip of its tar tongue
that snakes across the earth beneath my tyres.
It's eaten entire generations
but it’s never satiated
always on the hunt for another youth to turn gaunt-faced
another teen pregnancy to keep stored in its pantry
'til crow's feet grow and teeth yellow
and the next batch of meat is born.
And it holds my parents captive
so every year
I take the bait
and let it swallow me down again.
Down past the fields of sugarcane that line its throat
and past the townsfolk
not farmers but livestock.
Down past the school where I learned about shame
and down past the church where this place tries to digest
pieces of people like you and I.
And every year
you hold my hand across the console
as yellowed eyes stare
and poisonous words are spat
from half-digested people.
But every year
you unteach the lessons this place taught me
a crooked youth in a straight-laced town.
So when its hungry arms draw us in
and it licks the salt from my cheeks where tears once streamed
I watch it
expecting to taste regret in my bones
and laugh when it chokes on the sweetness
I’ve found with you instead.
About the Creator
J. R. Lowe
By day, I'm a PhD student, by night.... I'm still a PhD student, but sometimes I procrastinate by writing on Vocal. Based in Australia.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Keep reading
More stories from J. R. Lowe and writers in Poets and other communities.
Center Stage with Gina C.
*** I'm keen to republish the interviews I did for my series with Vocal creators. It's been a few years and I thought it might be nice to revisit these wonderful conversations. I'll be releasing them one at a time for a few weeks/months.
By Heather Hubler5 days ago in Interview
Comments (29)
Back for the best of reasons. CONGRATS, J.R.!!!!
Well. I'm a fuckwit. When I was replying and saying how much I loved your stuff, I remembered you placed with this stunning piece. I thought I had done the "congrats" followup but no. Nada zilch. Sorry. So here goes. Congrats, Josh! This was a helluva poem!
Returning for a belated congrats on winning the road drops here challenge!! 🎉
The metaphor of the town as something that devours people is so vivid. Beautifully written. Congrats on winning the challenge.
Wow Josh! Loved this relatable poem, it really captured the essence of a town holding people in its grip. Loved the tar tongue imagery and the church as a digester. Just brilliant! Congratulations on your win 🥳
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Congratulations 🥳🏆Not Surprised at all! Deserve it!
Congratulations! Well deserved!
Yay JR!! I'm circling back to say congrats on honourable mention on this week's leaderboard!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
I don't know my hometown well, only visited a few times...but is swear we are from the same place. Just oceans apart. Congrats, this resonated far and wide.
I have mixed feelings about my hometown too. It's not the town's appetite: it's that of the people who live in it. I am of them and yet I am nothing like them. It's a strange feeling of connection and disconnectedness.
Wow! That took us through a bumpy ride but ended nicely with embracing the newer and more promising times. Great TS!
Relatable. My home town is a hell hole. Congrats on top story!!
Hometowns don't always keep good memories and I think you've captured that well. Definitely deserving of Top Story. Congrats!
Well done on your top story. Good to see a fellow Aussie - are you studying at James Cook Uni?
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
I second Paul's first comment!!! Daaaaamn is right!! I'm literally gobsmacked by this one, it feels relatable and dark. You've pulled no punches and I'm all here for it!! Congrats on Top Story J.R.!!!
DAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. This is why we miss you, fella! This was beautifully articulated and gorgeously written in all the harshness that was justified. Even though I have no need to return to my hometown as noone I care about really lives there anymore...this in some ways feels how I would feel about it, even though our experiences may be different! Congrats on a stunning and deserved Top Story, J (I forget what J name you have haha.)
Wow! This is so good and really captures the horrible memories we are forced to return to. Congratulations on a well deserved top story
Oh my days. You have perfectly encapsulated the bitter-sweet homecoming experience. I felt every sentiment and warning in this. Well deserved top story! 👏 👏👏
You’ve encapsulated what a town can do to people very well and the sweetness of escape. Great job!
This poem is so raw and deep, I L-O-V-E it!!! Congrats on the TS, very well deserved. Probably the best thing I read all week.
Perfect short story
I was wondering when this was leading g too, being from a small town I caught on. And the. Began to feel nostalgic. Congratulations on top story