A famished, ill-clad beggar stands <br />Amidst some barking dogs! <br />All searching through the garbage-dump <br />For left-over food, fast; <br />Each taking turns at emptying, <br />The things inedible; <br />Their hunger-pangs can drive them mad; <br />Will Dame Luck smile on them? <br /> <br />His eyes keep straining just for food, <br />On plantain-leaves by luck; <br />The scorching sun can’t bother him, <br />Nor can the stench within; <br />His pangs of hunger goads him on <br />To lick the residue; <br />His face keeps smiling when he sees, <br />A morsel of cooked grain! <br /> <br />The dogs are happy biting bones, <br />Though meat, they never meet; <br />He’s back to work upon the pile <br />And sorts the rocks from leaves; <br />There’s silence excepting the noise <br />Of scrambling for food found; <br />The garbage-dump’s a blessed spot, <br />Where man and beast share food!<br /><br />Dr John Celes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tis-a-sad-mad-world/
