Only Play – No Work Poem by Girija Menon

Drive to work – familiar road
Five days a week - the usual route
Today is different dude
A sight leaves me mute

Traffic light turns Red
Vehicles screeching to a halt ahead
Waiting patiently for the Green signal
Wanting to race past this muddle

Few seconds – knock on my window
Two little palms and a tiny shadow
Two painful eyes filled with sorrow
A six year old, forced to grow

A bunch of roses in one hand
A bag of books hanging behind
Asking me to please be kind
Spare a few pennies for her merchandise

At six she ought to be at school
Not at a street corner or a traffic pool
Never sympathize or give her a coin
Yes, she needs your help, but not with a Dime

Children being forced to grow
Bring in money – beg, steal or borrow
She was just one among many
You and I witness and feel sorry
We pay or buy their wares worth only a penny
Washing our guilt – seems very easy

Guilty we are in our own way
Hope we can some day
Be proud and say
Our children are no more prey
To this dreadful crime that we hope is not here to stay.