I Pity Them Poem by Francis Duggan

I pity them those children of the street
They eat the food that dogs refuse to eat
From trash bins food people have thrown away
Half eaten burgers that smell of decay.

Poor hungry souls they live in poverty
But they need more far more than sympathy
Their health perhaps damaged beyond repair
Compared to them i live like a millionaire.

Compared to theirs my childhood was so good
By my old home the birds sang in the wood
A warm house that sheltered me from wind and rain
And i never knew of the ache of hunger pain.

And yet compared to some i must seem very poor
And my future not financially secure
But despite that a good life i enjoy
And there are millions far worse off than i.

I pity her the poor and starving mother
Who has lived through one famine after the other
Her dying baby suckling her milkless breast
And all of her other children in a mass grave rest.

I pity them the poor children of the city
But they deserve and need far more than pity
They never play the games that most children play
And they eat the food that others throw away.