She wanders into the kitchen,

cold floor beneath her feet;

She can’t remember the last time,

she has had anything to eat.

~

This seven year old child,

opens up the cabinet doors;

Yet they’re as bare as her tummy,

and just as neglected and poor.

~

Severely malnutritioned,

her matted hair full of Lice;

Her skin is raw from scratching,

 the infected, Bed Bug bites.

~

Her Parent’s left her again,

to fend for herself, all alone;

They’ve been gone for many days,

from this house she calls her “Home”.

~

She puts on her tattered, old coat,

then kisses her Puppy goodbye;

This Angel will search for her dinner,

through the garbage she’ll rummage all night.

~

In the Trash Bin behind a Restaurant,

she scavenges ‘til she finds;

A half eaten Bacon sandwich,

that a Customer left behind.

~

She places it into her pocket,

tonight she will have a feast;

And when she returns to her home,

her puppy is there at her feet.

~

She tears the sandwich in half,

and watches him scarf it down;

She savors every bite she takes,

from the table scraps she found.

~

Wearily she climbs into bed,

 her Puppy asleep by her side;

He is the only one she knows,

who gives her the will to survive.

Copyright © 2009 Jillian Alexis