Forsaken.
They pass unnoticed in café crowds,
the black-penciled eyes of
pre-teen beggar girls.
Treading cement dust they strut, mouths
painted in innocence but out
adult ways to learn.
Flaunting bodies not yet mature, how
tragic the flesh-trade making
young whores of the poor.
Such maidens exposed to de-flowering
expect no fearless passage
to painless futures.
When will this cruel insane world yield
to the needs of these forsaken children ?