Innocence Interrupted

I am the type of writer who draws inspiration from life on the streets, no matter where I find myself in the world. Sometimes it is a lonely man in a cafe in Berlin. Or another day it will be the young lovers hiding behind the trees in Bangkok embroiled in a bitter disagreement. It isn’t the perfect or sweet moments that draw my attention, but the sense of loss, pain, despair.

Today I share an old photograph from my archives that has haunted me for years. It is the first time I am publishing it, and I ask you to allow the little boy to draw you into his world. There is no need for me to tell you the story.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. 
– Emily Dickinson