She eats with bare hands;
A handful of garbage,
A mouthful of life. A day's
Survival and revival,
And healing of a frail
Body failed by a society
Of affluence, by a faith
Preaching benevolence.
She is an anathema to the
Conscience shaped by a
Consciousness that defines
Being as having. Having
Her before our very eyes
Is itself a sin to our very
Selves, if not to a God who
Sees our humanity as frail
As this child's body.
"How is it, that every
Execution offends us more
Than a ******? It is the
Coldness of judges, the painful
Preparation that a child is
Here being used as a means to
Deter reality. For guilt is not
Being punished , even if there
Were guilt; guilt lies in the
Educators, the parents, the
Environment, in us, not in her
Innocence.**"
For the child I saw wandering at the E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City.
Your circumstance is very disturbing, not enough to be captured in words.
SOURCE NOTE: The quoted words are from my favorite philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The italicized words were altered to fit the images in this piece.
Quezon City, Philippines
October 9, 2013