Prayer

Sitting by the roadside
With all this dust and smoke and the noise
And my one year old
He stares at everything like it’s magic

He doesn’t know
It’s just a dirty road in a cruel world
My man is not here
I know exactly where though

In a ditch, shooting up
Too smart to overdose
And too tired to come out of it
I don’t think he was ever with us

It was the neighbors who avoided us first
Then the family
No friends to count on
Now begging

Begging for scraps and a coin
I haven’t eaten since yesterday
I could survive another day or two
It won’t be the first time

But the little one
He needs what little milk I can produce
Today is a tough day
It’s evening already
And I have nothing

I turn to god again and again
God who kicks us off his doorsteps in the early hours
Before the people come to praise him
God whose mercy extends to letting us live

God whose mercy extends to the priest
Who I hope will have me tonight
In exchange for 20 rupees
This is what is left of my prayer
And pray I will

I need that money
To buy a second hand sweater
For this little one
The winter is coming.