Outliving Death Poem by Parameswaran Nair Damodaran Nair

'The Vulture And The Little Girl',
The Pulitzer Prize-winning picture
In the newspapers of late June 1993
Was enough to shock any with a heart
It was a real scene from the sufferings
Of the devastated Sudanese people
who were Destined to fight and outlive
The severe famine and poverty of 1993.

Even a drop of muddy water was scarce
To quench the fire of hunger that rose
Up from the bottom of their stomach
Charring it's walls and burning throats
The child was one of the many millions
Whose lungs were struggling to breathe
And hearts to beat in the proper rhythm
All for want of a little food and water
The common mass in misery used to rush
To landing aircrafts anticipating food supply
Keeping outside, under the burning sky
And leaving to destiny, their ailing children.
It was to Kevin carter's notice that a vulture
Eyeing on a frail child came accidentally
And he copied the scene in his camera
for placing before the social conscience
And not for the fame that sought after him-
The Pulitzer Award for Journal photography
Could not solace his heart ailing from injury
Cast by the horrible sceneries in Sudan