Mouna IP

She is laying asleep
on the stone steps of the derelict building.
dust on the streets,
people walking by.

It’s as easy as ABC
if you know
how to say your ABC;
if you are lucky enough
to go to school.
Do you have parents?
She doesn’t.
She is 2, all curled up with a teddy
in her arms,
asleep alongside the footpath.

So I take her in my arms
and give her a place at the orphanage.
We give her a name
and a meal.
She is going to stay here.
Every child here is dependant on funds raised from the general public.

In time, (how old is she really?)
she will go to school.
She has no parents, no relatives, no sisters or brothers,
only her little teddy bear.

Mouna is a victim of
war, famine, disease.
Abandoned by misfortune.
An orphan left on the streets,
Mouna has her teddy bear,
a remnant of more secure times.
She can’t tell you about them-
only show you her teddy bear.