A Child

Her eyes were sad, defeated,
Her clothes hung from her frame like a shroud,
With a baby on her hip she wandered
Up and down the streets and all around.

She picked up food from the garbage,
She had lost any sense of pride,
Her baby pulled at her shrivelled breasts,
In a desperate plea for life

Her hair was a matted crow’s nest,
Her fingernails caked with dirt,
And in the droop of her lips and shoulders,
There was a tale of a lifetime of hurt.

And yet when her child gave a gurgle,
And puckered his lips for a kiss,
A light came to her eyes that transformed her
To a picture of joy and of bliss.

What is this love of a mother
That transforms your body and soul?
The world can be standing against you
But the smile of your child makes you whole.

You can forget the pain of the body,
Of the hurt and despair of the past,
As you gather your child in your arms,
And hold him close to your heart!