Anonymous

Her hunger extends
beyond the corporal relief
afforded by the scraps
she holds in her hands.

Despair
defines her strength.

She comes from the South
displaced by the horrors
of a legacy of aggression --
of peace pursued by bloodshed.

Vestige
of a ravaged culture.

She sits by the portals
of God's merciful kingdom
waiting for the blessings
that shun her still.

Her sacramental
devotion.

Alms: the oil that fires the lamp
that lights her starless nights
revealing stories hunger has written
on her crestfallen eyes.

Tales she could tell
if she only remembers her name.