He Knows

 

He knows.

I can see it in his eyes.

He’s eight years old;

It says so on the caption.

It’s a gift to the photographer:

all emotion is there.

 

This eight year old boy, he’s sitting at the kitchen table.

He’s eating a burger,

a donation from the local burger bar.

Mum’s got no money.

She says she’s not hungry.

He knows she’s lying.

But he’s hungry.

And the burger tastes really good.

But he knows.

 

In his eyes I see shame, but I see hunger.

I see his embarrassment.

He knows he’s under-privileged.

but he doesn’t know why.

 

A portly politician at the Commons restaurant

eases himself into the dining chair,

resolving to cut down on calories.

He wants to lose weight.

No dessert, then, today.

 

Tomorrow morning, the boy will still be hungry,

but his mother knows that today he’ll get a meal at lunch-time,

and she thanks God for a young Manchester footballer.