In ‘Fruitless Endeavour’, the poet questions the a ‘reality gap that exists between the haves and the have nots. This stark contrast is illustrated in the young protagonist’s anxious and nervous rummaging of the dustbin for a valuable crowed with rubbish even as she hears the obstinate cries and gentle rebukings of a robust child and its doting mother who is forcing food down the child’s pursed lips. What does the deprived girl at the back door do? Read on/Listen in.