The Girl Who Never Crossed

He grips her tightly

She had never crossed before

A bus passes bye, she had never seen one before

Movements and noises were unfamiliar

A 12 year-old who had never left the house

Kids her age working to feed their homes

Their feet sore and muddy, their clothes; torn

Hawking food, shoes and deodorants

They run, play and fight

Kicking dirt, throwing stones

She looks her dad in his eyes wondering about her life

Why he hid such beauty from her

It rained that day: heavily while they awaited their bus

A destitute woman drinking from a pothole

The bus arrives eventually; it’s time to go he says

A blind man that couldn’t walk needed to cross the road

She wants to help but he had never crossed before

 

Author's Note

Started a series recently; "The Girl" this is the second piece..I posted the first already: "the girl who spoke french....

Reviews

[Patricia B. Hepler]

This piece offers so much. A father's need to protect his daughter, a girl's perception of seeing the world around her for the first time as beauty and the harsh reality of life.
Excellent write.
~pat

[Circe]

you really created a moving story around the girl, the setting, the humanity, suffering and survival as it is.... and finished it beautifully at the end with the blind man.... just shows how similar and different we are from one another.... captivating, powerful, an impressive piece.

[Coyote Poetry]

I was raised in Detroit. Poor mother had a low paying job. Funny when you are raised with nothing. You miss little. Would be hard if you were locked in and open the door to poverty and a sad world. I enjoyed the story in the poem. A lot of people intentional don't looked at the people in need. Thank you for sharing the excellent poem.
Coyote

[Leslie Philibert]

Good poetry !