I never had a Childhood

the boy on the door to deliver a parcel

looked no older than eleven years

wore a torn cap, no laces on his shoes

the buttons on his shirt, mostly missing

first he offered the package to me

and then a ledger with a pen

“would you please sign against your name Ma’am”

while I signed, I asked him how old was he

“I am not sure Ma’am, my mother never told me”

where was his mother, my heart forced me to ask

“I never saw her, she died the day I was born”

my heart broke, the ground slipped under my feet

I asked him since when he was working, doing deliveries

like a hard blow on my face his innocent answer came

“I have been working since the day I GREW UP Ma’am”

as he turned to leave he said to me in pain

“I was never a child Ma’am, I never had a childhood“

that parcel is still sitting in my room unopened

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