I'm one of the sparrows

When was the last time
I had something to eat
Was it stale bread, a banana peel,

some paper or meat

It had been something
From the garbage I had stolen
They all taste the same
Once they're rotten & swollen

When I'd been in my village
I had it all
But the mouths were many
And the morsels were small

So I ran away,
& came to this town
But my hopes were shattered
My world came down

The city was ruthless

A sweltering dustbowl

Millions of bodies

Not one with a soul

They said I'd get food
If I just lift some bricks
Tough job for a girl
Who's hardly of six

In a day's work, my hands

were bruised & sore

And hurt so much

That it hurts no more

I had been promised

But I still wasn't fed

So I lived on the pavement
& begged for my bread

It's an easy life,

Only two things to fight

When the rabid dogs

& the cold, both bite

There are many just like me

Frail bodies, stone eyes

Ghosts of misfortune

Only just alive

We've all grown up

Though not in years

Lived all our nightmares

Faced all our fears

I've lost my childhood

But I hardly care

Because I know at my home

My brother gets my share