I remember her —

All too well.

Walking barefooted — calloused

Along the dusty, winding roads,

Struggling through thorn studded fields,

Hungry, tired and cold. 

Dripping drooping doggedly—

Forever damned.

Dodging ditches, dogs, dongas,

In a cloud of dust.

Her baby bobbing on her back.

Slinking behind the rows of

Cold, crumbling corrugated sheets,

Groping around this makeshift box.

She lovingly still calls her home —

Her very own.

Sliivers, searches, and slowly sinks,

Blinking though her tears,

Her erstwhile dreams of sadness,

Clutching her baby; consuming her whole life.

Too tired - sleep she must.

Till the new day breaks,

Fraught, and frowning

With life's endless anxieties and fears;

TIte agony, the pain which

Afresh the new day will surely bring.

Source: SPEAK