India,
Africa,
Pakistan,
Philippine,
Child labour.

Slaves of their country,
Shackled to their jobs,
Loss of their innocence,
Children no longer.

Listen to their hammers
The rhythm, the beat
Thud…thud…thud
Never ending,
Never slowing

How else could they survive?
A day’s work for food
Nothing more,
Never more

Bruises, scars, scrapes
Six days a week.
For family, their families
Mother, father,
Grandma, grandpa,
Brother, sister.
They’re children no longer.

Starvation,
Their strong cry for help
Their swollen hands,
Working hard
Smashing, grinding

We are selfish, greedy,
Deaf to their cries
Ignorant of the truth.

You say you’re not,
I say “lie”
What have we ever done?
How have you ever helped?

I say I care,
You say you care,

But…
We know nothing
Knowledge can’t help
Experiences are stronger.

Children surviving -barley,
Fingers stiff,
Forgotten hopes and dreams,
Wishing for the life of luxury,
Never complaining,
Holding their head up high,
They’re children no longer.

We’ve never felt like them.

Look at them,
Pounding away in the quarry,
Under highways.
Never slowing,
Never resting.
A bag’s worth $3, you know?

We are ignorant to the truth
We have never given help.
We are ignorant…
Or do we just not care?

I think I do
I know I do
But what have we done?
Nothing

Selfish,
That’s what we are.
Greedy,
Offering empathy and nothing more.
Forgetting they are just children after all.
Birds of the world
With crippled wings.

We will be the ones the free them from their fate.
We will save them.