Hope and despair

Tattered clothes, with a stitch here and there

In Scrunched pigtails are her unkempt hair

Flip flops on her feet are a mismatched pair

The heat is scorching yet she doesn’t seem to care

Among halted vehicles, she scuttles like a hare

Knocking on windows, asking for some change spare

As I drop some pennies, she says a prayer

For my well-being, like she does deeply care

And then in her eyes, I spot a gleam so rare

A few pennies unleash a joyous affair

She looks at the sky, thanks someone up there

So much gratitude in the midst of despair

I secretly thank her,

For even when she gets less than her share

She teaches me to be grateful with her humility beyond compare

We have so much, yet we fret and swear

Dressed in our discontent, a frown we often wear

As the signal turns and I cross a bustling square

In my perilous mind, a harsh reality does glare

The burden of guilt becomes mammoth to bear

Carrying tons of repentance I shed a guilty tear

I secretly apologize

For we are the culprits, the reason for their despair

For the lost childhood of umpteen children everywhere

For those forsaken young ones need love and care

Just like all children, they are gems precious and rare