A Typical Ethiopian Boy

In this undernourished dry plain
Of this Ethiopian Land,
I have no food, nor water:
Just a cup filled up with sand.
I wish no more than living,
As I'm a typical Ethiopian boy.
Just a little grain to fill my cup;
To fill my heart with joy.
My friends all die around me,
And I will share their doom
If my sand-filled cup of life
Is not filled with water soon.