You stare up at me,
shallow bodies and kaleidoscope eyes
sadness embedded in your mothers'
frail movements
because
you don't know
that
you could die

lyrics twist around my head
do something
make a difference
I watch your starving eyes absorb
the barren dirt
as if it holds beauty
and run around, playing tag
like nothing else matters

I look in the mirror
vines wind a tangled
web
of lies
around me
It's not your fault
You're powerless
You're
Barely
Scraping
By

I touch my high cheekbones,
watch my dark almond eyes
flicker
I was a starving child
in Africa
who didn't get any of the sandwiches
they refused to eat
in a better world
I am one of you,
one of the many
entrenched in desperation,
reeking of poverty and sweat
I ate mud in arid weather,
hoping
I would live another day