Secrets They Keep

Poor little brother sleeps

in a corner on the floor,

gets woken on a balmy night

when he hears his pa pa roar,

 

wiping eyes and sitting up

shakes with feelings of despair,

he wants to know what's going

on – the shouting is so very wrong,

 

hears ma ma's sobbing tears

they ring in his delicate ears,

drops begin to edge their way

down his cheeks they slip away,

 

his pa pa now declares to her that

needs must mean there's no money

left to feed the family – have to send

little brother out to beg for charity.

 

It's now been three whole months

since little brother stole away,

no body came to search for him,

an eight year old made his own way,

 

with only his teddy to keep him company,

called him one eye, that was kind of sad,

a bit of stuffing missing here and there;

but this...his companion was all he had.

 

Third world scrawny children

sprawling out along the road,

eyes pretending not to notice

as they huddle to keep out cold,

 

having trouble understanding

what it's like to have a love to hold,

all they need is a little compassion

a token of honest hope to unfold,

 

all they want is to tell their story

to a world they've never known,

where history doesn't repeat itself;

they have medicine to aid their health,

 

If they live to see the hour where

they'll know of class and power,

telling of facts and not just lies,

life that's seen through their eyes,

 

how there are no smiles in some cases,

with hardly any food to feed their faces,

day by day the money always running out,

working hard with no time to rest or chill out.

 

One young mother who is a beauty,

dances in a strip joint doing her duty,

to dirty punters she'll give attitude

takes no nonsense even if she's rude.

 

In the midnight hour

trying to make ends meet,

these are secrets that

those with no voice keep.