They can’t explain their hunger to you.
They can’t tell you they want your care.
They can only hope you won’t tie them up,
and drag them behind your motorbike,
until they rip apart, long after they strangulate.
They can only hope you give them a kind thought,
and allow them to crawl into the shutter gap,
away from the torrential rains,
your own greed has brought into the world.
They can only hope you won’t use plastic
to wrap their helpless newborn children,
and toss them in flowing or stagnant water,
or take time to bury them alive.
They can only hope.
Because they don’t know human beings.
They don’t know the stupid wars you fight,
and the way you shoot down anyone
who doesn’t belong to the majority vote.
They don’t know your history and greed.
They don’t know you have invaded their lands
and driven them out.
Your acts of genocide are unknown to them.
They can only hope that you may give them a scrap of unwanted food,
under a godless sky, over a parched cement block,
and maybe just maybe
let them be.
Hearts Still Care 