Poverty

I saw a child sleeping on the street today
He was no more than nine or ten
I passed him on my way to see
A sight of wonder and beauty
He lay on the ground within a gated monument
Wearing a dirty pair of shorts and shirt
It was midday as he lay
Undisturbed by tourists taking photographs

I saw another child today
Sitting on an abandon building's stoop
Barefoot, his eyes were swollen almost shut
As he begged for money from passersby
No one gave him a second glance 'cept me
I didn't reach into my pocket for fear
That he might be baiting me
For some larger fish's attack

I saw yet another child sleeping on the street today
Amazed at how the crowds walked by
As if this was a common sight to see
I stopped and wondered where his mother was
Where all the mothers were, but in my heart I knew
Having just read an article on the epidemic of abandonment
In Bahia and now I'm faced with proof

I just received my quiche and coffee
Having lost my appetite, wondering how to help
The two small children forced to leave my hotel
For trespassing and playing in the pool
A New Yorker born and raised
In this city homelessness is a mainstay
A minor inconvenience
Seldom getting in your way
Except when polluting your subway car
or begging for the change
You don't intend to give
As you look down and wait for him to pass

Never a child do you see
Begging in a subway car or sleeping on the street
Yet, you've seen nothing until you've seen
A human being rummaging
Through someone else's trash
Alongside stray cats and dogs
All searching desperately for something to eat