Her brown eyes stare at me
And I stare back.
They are dark, beautiful, and deep
But also hollow.
Hopeless.

This child of eight.
This modern day slave.
Robbed of her childhood
To feed the desires of the highest bidder.

This wasn’t how I planned my trip to Brazil to be
But this is what it has come to
Staring into the eyes of a child
Beneath the arms of a man who blesses those like a child.

The growling man behind her tells me
To either pay up and move along
Eyes downcast, I move along.
Along with all the other tourists
Who turn a blind eye to her

My heart weighs heavy as the air around me
Where is the hope for this child?
To her there is none.
Only another day of evil men and beatings
She breaks my heart.

I quickly see there are more like her
Millions of them
Children forced into the sex trade
Abducted, traded, violated,
Robbed of the childhood that I took for granted

The plane ride home gives me time to think.
Too much time.
I should have done something.
Something other than just walk away
And try to blend into the flow of traffic.

Does anybody hear her?
Does anybody see?
Does anyone even care?
We are all humans after all,
All citizens of the world.
Now I ask you fellow citizens of the world-
Does this seem right to you?