You pass them by in the streets,
you see them every single day.
Looking at their smiling faces,
as they wish there was something you would say.
You read the headline in the paper,
see their picture on the news.
“Child taken from home,
parents arrested for abuse.”
That little girl at the store yesterday,
so quiet and well-behaved.
That little boy down the road,
the one who you could have saved.
But as you passed them by,
you never even had a thought.
That their bright and cheery smiles,
masked quite a lot.
Every child has a story,
they all keep their secrets.
But when you see their blank stares,
try harder to read it.