An Impossible Task Poem by Louise Tredoux

Faced with an impossible task –
collecting the right amount to save
the orphanage – I’ve held collection
boxes before, it was awful, I don’t do
it anymore – now to begin again, being
a beggar for a good cause, my heart is sore,
this is not something I can accomplish, walking
from door to door, standing at a shopping centre
with a collection board, feeling so bad I can’t smile
and beg nicely – if these poor orphans are dependent
on me, they’ll starve to death, that’s for sure…