The Dawn II

No Roads Lead Nowhere…

With empty eyes, hopelessly she stares

For in her pot there is no water to drink,

The river is far, meandering so swift

Miles to trudge, she is on exhaustion brink

He loiters around the small mud hovel

Playing with his marbles and a stone,

With dreamy eyes once awhile does see

That school so far-flung from home

Broken hearted, with lines etched deep

He sits numb and silently vacant all day,

For buried beneath the stars she lies

Uselessly, because help was far away

Old and bent, barely holding the cane

That frail woman stumbles over fields,

Through thick forests and muddy swamps

To buy a handful of ration for her family

For no roads lead nowhere…

But now they do go somewhere…

There are those few who make a difference

And fight against corruption and fear,

Night and day they tirelessly toil along with

Those for whom even the basics come dear

So they brought a real road to the village

And took it forward to another further afar

And now no longer does she thirst for water

Nor the child remains from school barred

No longer does a young wife die destitute

Because help could not come her way

A feeble grandmother will not wander lost

Through forests surviving only on whey

Yes the dawn is nearing, ‘tis not too far

Though it seems to be pitch dark still,

When challenges are of this magnitude

Even a slow start speaks of a strong will…