24 hours (as a child labourer)

An everyday morning:
He gets up when it is still dark.
It is his job to collect the coal,
his means of survival- the coal’s black mark.

A regular afternoon:
She’s out facing the sun’s wrath,
helping build homes she’ll never live in.
Trying to clear her obstacled path.

A casual evening:
He stops at the tea stall.
Not to buy himself a pack of wafers
but to serve those who can, forever at their call.

An uneventful night:
She sweeps the store clean.
She’ll be gone by morning.
Like the dust, she too must never be seen.

This is how they spend each day.
This is their life for a meager pay.
At an age to think of books and toys,
they’re drowned in work, away from joys.
Deprived of all we take for granted-
a basic education, carefree times enchanted.
This is the life these children lead.
Is it fair of us to blame the creed?
It is time for us to think, to wonder.
It is time for us all to solemnly ponder.