Louanne

I first found her eating pieces of a watermelon that were left rotting in a small black plastic bag. She was snorting, digging at the bag with her giant mouth, getting every last bit of nutrients from the street's pathetic offering. She looked up at me standing two feet from her, my body plastered against the bright green wall of our cement fence, my heart watching sullenly. Her big hollow black eyes pierced into me saying, "I know you know how sad this is". I did know. Her black skin clung tight to her bones. Her face was sunken in. I could count her ribs and could have curled up inside one the the deep cavities of her bony rear. She was nothing, but utters, yellow painted horns, and bones. She has a limp and an open wound on her back left leg that the flies swarmed to . I gave her a loaf of bread and a beet, and offered her my arm, but the loyal vegetarian wouldn't partake. After inhaling the alms she placed her large moist nose close to my chest. Smelling my useless grief she turned and began scrounging the streets for more food. Feeling completely helpless, I watched her limp away, each step taking tremendous effort and painfully numbering her days. I went and climbed the marble staircase to my room where I cried and prayed for a better world.