A Gift To You Poem by Shirani Rajapakse

The aroma from my coffee wafts
through the room. The sweet
taste of the doughnut lingers in my
mouth as I sit in cushioned
comfort and shed tears at
the unfairness of it all. You cannot
have this simple life I have.
Your life is led in a faraway place
where the aroma of coffee
is just a dream. Your mouth will
not taste the sweet fullness
I taste nor know what it must
be like to sit on a cushion.
For you the cold hard earth is all
there is. That and a sip of
water, if you can find it.
Your tears have dried up long
ago. There’s no more water left
in your little body that looks
like a dried up leaf to produce
a single tear.
You lie there waiting for something
more than this, but what can I
offer you sitting here in my
room so far away?
All I can give are words.
They cannot feed or protect
you from the cold. But they can
turn themselves into cash that someone
will use to buy you things. Simple
things that can make you live
a better life, another day. That’s my gift
to you. I hope
this is enough. Is it?
I sip my coffee now gone cold
and try to imagine what you must
be going through, so far away.