Corruption

The starving girl looking in the mirror

Measuring her body

Still thinking she’s too fat

I would change that.

The boy who takes out the bandages

To cover up his cuts

Because he thinks they’re too ugly to look at

I would change that.

The ten year old little boy so shy

That he can’t even confidently say hi

Because he feels like he’ll be laughed at

I would change that.

The woman who shaved her head

Because she wanted to do it before the chemo did

And now she is convinced she has to wear a hat

I would change that.

The son of a mother who has passed away

His dad said it was “his birth for her life”

And now he’s afraid of his father’s bat

I would change that.

The little girl who never has a lunch

Because there’s no food at home

So by itself, her body is being eaten away at

I would change that.

The old man with no money

Sits on the city corner and begs for food

And passersby have nothing for him but the word “sewer rat”

I would change that.

The victims of a drunk driver

Two little foster kids without parents and a home

So now there’s no place to permanently live at

I would change that.

The worried single mom of three

Standing on the corner to make some money

Sacrificing her dignity to be whistled at

I would change that.

The young woman who went to study abroad in another country

Was kidnapped and drugged

To be sold to strange men and be spat at

I would change that.

The beloved Hollywood actress

Dealing with divorce and severe depression

Overdosed and is now being called a selfish brat

I would change that.

The lost girl, without a real home

Wandering around a city unknown,

To get away from an alcoholic father, only to be labeled as a street rat

I would change that.

People selfishly turn their heads

So that these issues don’t become their burden

And so these broken lives continue to go on not looked at

I would change that.