Lord have mercy on her.
Her mother’s love was the only luxury she knew;
too much lacking to see even one year through,
she died of poverty.
Lord have mercy on her.
Through tears & sweat she gasped a funeral prayer,
“God graced us this child, I gave her milk and care”;
She lives in poverty.
Lord have mercy on me.
From my second floor safety I see them struggling
through daily drudgery, not enough of anything;
I am assaulted by poverty.
Lord have mercy on us.
The generation with the resources to end the pain,
but pre-occupied with our personal fulfilment and gain,
we perpetuate poverty.
[written by a long time Servants team member living amongst the urban poor in India]
