A Child

A 3-year-old crawled by the gutter as the crowd's feet trampled past. No eye lingered, save for those of curious children who were impatiently tugged past by their parents. Mud-stained, tear-stained child, he huddles next to the sausage peddler's cart, hoping for unwanted entrails--a feast. His eyes water from the cooking smoke. The crowd's feet trample past. The sausage peddler slaps a pan with a bone and kicks the dog away from his booth.