The Thirsty Child

We see hungry, thirsty, homeless and orphaned children everywhere. If we extend a helping hand their suffering can be lessened.

Give a little milk of love

The child was at the railway station yesterday
Today she is at the market place
Tomorrow she will be somewhere else
The homeless child
Without a father
Without a mother
Thirsting for a little milk of love
Drinking water from a public tap

She eats the stale food
The wasteful rich throw away
When she doesn’t get any
She scavenges the garbage dump
To find a few pieces of bread
Or a few grains of rice
Jostling with the street dogs
Leading a dog’s life

She spends her nights at the platform
Bitten by thousand mosquitoes
Sometimes, she sleeps under a tree
Hungry and shivering
Struggling to catch some warmth
By curling herself like a dog
But comfort and sleep elude her
Sleep is not a friend of empty stomachs

What will become of the mankind
Whose childhood is starving
Shivering in the open
More naked than covered with rags
Cover your face in shame, O civilizations
Pity yourselves countries and nations
Your progress flies beyond the solar system
While your system rots to the core

Let no child go to sleep hungry
Let everyone have clothes on his shoulder
Let everyone lay his head on a bed
Let everyone have a roof over his head
Let no one be without love from someone
Let no one be lonely and sad
Let no one struggle alone to survive
Let all of us extend a helping hand


By Xavier Bage
13th November 2012