Love Song To An Orphan Poem by Maria J. Andrade

Once upon a starless vigil,
a wanderer came to me,
who walked in darkness
down the path,
where other homeless, orphans
such as he, had walked,
in silent nights now passed.

The wind abrasive, unforeseen,
tore at his coat,
opposed his every way.
And I observed his hunger,
lack of rest, as of my own.
And what he lacked
became my test.

I walked with him in sorrow,
and the unjust deeds none
would confess,
were buried in his body,
in the language of his step,
in the hollow of his breast.

I walked with him in longing,
through the hours of neglect.
In those sunny hours,
when I and all the living did forget,
a part of me still walked with him,
a witness to distress,
a needed arbor for a weary guest,
a mother with her child.