The hard poem I've been wanting to write
Resembles a beggar-child in my mind's eye
Wandering the streets of Rome after WWII.
He has big, gleaming eyes.
An American soldier gives him chocolate
Sneaks away with him to roam the city.
A school-leaver makes the best tour guide
Especially in a place with many ruins.
The soldier brings the boy nylons from the P.X.
You can speculate on these stockings in Rome.
Maybe the kid has an older sister at home,
Or maybe he has no home at all.
That child's eyes can pull your heartstrings
His money-angling tricks will make you laugh.
In normal times such a clever child
Could surely make something of himself.
For a time the American soldier is tempted
To adopt the boy and take him across the sea.
But red tape in the military is three times thicker
Than civilian bureaucracy.
Later, the soldier is discharged and sent home;
One day he sees this headline in the paper:
"Youth Gangs Run Rampant in Rome"
And the next wave of Mafia activity
Is now expanding to American shores.
Afgan or iraq problem is not confined to that country only.Yes, as you said , such problems will affect all countries.These street children fall easily in the hand of terrorists and mafias. We should also look into the problem from a humanitarian point of view
Sad story of a street child - - - - -Having no family, no house, no means of living, no one to care about, bereft of any education, what a street child has to look forward to ? Though we think that street children are not our concern, it is the concern of so and so, we don't realize that it is a global problem. (Contd)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Civilian burocracy and military red tapism kills humanity.So nice episode.