child prostitution

A child’s tiny feet,
Blue, blue with cold,
How can they see and not protect you?
Oh, my God!

Tiny wounded feet,
Bruised all over by pebbles,
Abused by snow and soil!

Man, being blind, ignores
that where you step, you leave
A blossom of bright light,
that where you have placed
your bleeding little soles
a redolent tuberose grows.

Since, however, you walk
through the streets so straight,
you are courageous, without fault.

Child’s tiny feet,
Two suffering little gems,
How can the people pass, unseeing.

Tiny Feet Analysis

Here is one of my most favorite foreign poems of all time. I suddenly remembered it from years back. I got a link for a copy of this poem and read my comment, explaining its meaning. (Yeah, I’ve forgot all about it!). And I was glad because my comment (now you know my name is Jel!) was actually helpful.

Note: I also wrote my analysis on this page. The content will be more or less the same from the link above.

In any piece of literature, as in any piece of art, one should first know the history of the person who created it so as to have a fuller understanding of the work.

Gabriela Mistral has been called a feminist most of her life, but she’s really a child advocate. And she wrote this particular poem to call attention to child prostitution.

From where she was born, prostitution, especially of children, has been rampant. Children, at the very young age of 5 or 6, are pushed to this trade in order to help their families. Child prostitution has become just another social issue that people choose to ignore.

The title, Tiny Feet, is a phallic symbol, just like the size of a male’s feet connotes the size of his sex organ.

There are several imagery and symbols in the poem. The word “snow” can mean indifference. Just like how we describe people who seem not to care at all as cold. “Soil” symbolizes fertility, referring to the vulnerability of female children. Tuberose is a plant that belongs to the lily family. In literature, it means dangerous pleasures. “Two suffering little gems” refers to virginity.

This poem calls the people attention protect and give importance to children. They are the most vulnerable member of the society and as older people, we are responsible for giving them shelter, security and support.

As a literary piece, this work is so reflective of Mistral’s style. She’s not a stickler for traditional poetry elements. The most defining element of her works is the strength of emotions she’s able to convey through the various use of metaphors, symbols and themes.

This poem has brought me sadness, made me feel horrible and ashamed. Sadness because it’s true, child prostitution is a real social issue and a great concern at that. Horrible, because I just couldn’t imagine the plight of a child described in the poem. And ashamed because I didn’t realize what the author wants to say until a literature professor explained it to me (and I’m not an active participant to end prostitution). I was so ashamed that I got shallow understanding about this beautiful piece of art. I felt I wasn’t giving it the respect it deserves.

Much is also true for what I felt with Ghibli Studio’s movie, “Spirited Away” which also alludes to child prostitution. That discovery made me really sad. Again, I was clouded by my ignorance.

So, if you want to add your own analysis or interpretation of the poem, please do so on the comments below. Thanks for dropping by!