Ruby Soup with Pearl Juice

Today is the international childrens day! For this special day, I will post a touching, yet tragic poem by the Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral.  Mistral was from Chile, a known feminist and wrote poems centering themes as mother’s love, sorrow, sterility and recovery.

“Tiny Feet”, the poem below, speaks of a child stricken with poverty. Mistral speaks of the poor child’s bravery and of the horror of the adult world ignoring the unfortunate little one. Considering the amount of children still living, around the world, in poverty, this poem is still terrible and horrible accurate.

Tiny Feet
By: Gabriela Mistral

A child’s tiny feet,
Blue, blue with cold,
How can they see and not protect you?
Oh, my God!

Tiny wounded feet,
Bruised all over by pebbles,
Abused by snow and soil!

Man, being blind, ignores
that where you step, you leave
A blossom of bright light,
that where you have placed
your bleeding little soles
a redolent tuberose grows.

Since, however, you walk
through the streets so straight,
you are courageous, without fault.

Child’s tiny feet,
Two suffering little gems,
How can the people pass, unseeing.

Good will to all children! / Maaretta