I see her sat there, <br />The little girl, she has nothing, <br />Not even proper clothes on her back, <br />Nor shoes on her feet. <br /> <br />Her features are gaunt, <br />She is malnourished, and mistreated, <br />It is easy to see, yet no one does, <br />They just choose to ignore it, <br />Preferring instead to think of warm houses, <br />Of log fires, of Christmas dinners, <br />But she, she has nothing. <br /> <br />As every day passes, I see her, <br />Always in the same spot, <br />Always looking with those expectant eyes, <br />Hoping that someone will take pity, <br />Will buy her hand made items, <br />The things she makes from the scraps others throw away, <br />But they don't even notice her. <br /> <br />Day by day, the snow falls, <br />Heavier and heavier, <br />Just like a scene from a Christmas card, <br />The gables of the houses, <br />Edged in snow, <br />The robin sat on the fence, singing away <br />It all seems so perfect. <br /> <br />I head into the village again, <br />The first time for a couple of weeks now, <br />I put off going yesterday, it was too cold, even for me. <br />Nearing the spot where 'she' always was, <br />I decided that today i would give a little, <br />£10. No, £20. It was nothing to me, <br />But as I rounded the corner, <br />There was nothing. <br />No little girl. <br />No hand made items for sale. <br />Nothing. <br /> <br />I asked a passer by where she had gone, <br />A tone of urgency in my voice, <br />But also a tone of concern, <br />Where could she be? <br />Could someone have taken her? <br />'No, I'm afraid she passed away, <br />Yesterday in fact. <br />Mind you, it was bitterly cold. <br />One could barely leave the house! ! ! <br /> <br />Here we were, talking about someones life, <br />and this person, is talking as though its nothing. <br />My eyes begin to sting, as the hot tears slowly fall, <br />Down my cheek, falling onto the snow below. <br />These were her tears, because, nobody cared. <br />Because i didn't care, i didn't make the effort, <br />When i had the chance to help, <br />I walked away.<br /><br />Steve Armstrong<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/walk-away/
