Two Voices

Why do my children go hungry?
Why is it so hard to provide?
I toil from sunrise to sunset
But still my babies have died.

Why, when my cupboards are bursting,
Abundant with foodstuffs galore,
Do my children gorge on sweets and crisps
‘Til they can stomach no more?

Why must my children miss studies?
Why have they no school clothes to wear?
They hunger for knowledge and learning
But I have not a shilling to spare.

Why won’t my kids do their homework?
School is for losers they say.
Let’s play on the Wii or the Xbox
Let’s pull a sickie today!

Why must I walk miles with sick child in my arms?
Why must she die of infection?
When all that is needed to save her life
Are drugs or a simple injection.

Why can’t I have an appointment today?
My diary is full to the brim.
Tomorrow I’m getting my haircut
Having lunch, then off for a swim.

Together we’ll make changes happen
We’ll alter perceptions and views
Rewriting our own life story
To do nothing, we cannot excuse.

Yellowman Wendy