A Letter from Daniel

By Sr. Mary Deighan, OLM
May/June 2012

Recently I received a letter and poem from Daniel Beba, a young man who lived with our Sisters on our compound in Vandeikya, Nigeria. At that time Daniel was attending secondary school in our village. Later he joined the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society at their Nigerian seminary and is now studying in South Africa.

Here is his letter:

Dear Sister Mary,

I hope you like this poem I have composed for you. During my Christmas break, I did my pastoral work for three weeks in St. Mary’s Hospital here in South Africa. I found it very moving to see people die daily of HIV and TB. South Africa has a lot of street children and whenever I go out I see them asking for money and food. The poem I’m sending you is a result of my encounter with one street child. I wrote it down on paper and just decided to email it to you. I hope you don’t mind.

Daniel Beba

Cry of a Street Child

By Daniel Beba
May/June 2012

I am alone, lost and hopeless
Bins are where I obtain my daily food
The streets are cold everyday as I saunter around
searching for a companion
Corners of the shops are my bedroom
and boxes are my bed and mattress
Where is my family?
North to south and east to west I have travelled
with no one to be a friend to me
The rising sun means wandering around in cold weather,
but I have only my torn shirt to protect me
Does anyone really care?
Bathing now is rare.
My profession is counting the streets
as if the next day there might be one missing
I have no one to talk to
for no ear is attentive enough to listen
What did I do to deserve all this?
Must I pay the price for what my parents did?
Pigs are better off for they have sties and food,
but I have none
Misery has become a part of me
The future is bleak and I long to have rest
in the unknown
All my skill, tenderness and love have been wasted
like a sweet smelling flower losing its scent
to the desert air.

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