Dignity Unsatisfied

Dignity Unsatisfied

(“The one who gives to the poor will not lack, but whoever shuts his eyes to them will receive many curses.” Proverbs 28:27)

There was one adult I always respected,
and shared my adolescent poetry,
and played my untidy chords;
there was one I took every girlfriend to meet,
and played the Airplane’s newest release,
and shared my latest role upon the stage.

So you will be surprised that she, who I knew
cared for people like cats, and cats like people;
you my blink your eyes upon reading that,
at my daring hope

To somehow help the poor,

My mother would quote Jesus and say,
“We shall have the poor always among us”,
and feel she was satisfied my
pre-frontal cortex, not yet fully shaped,
would take that authoritative word as
an answer full-measure and complete.

(I never thought she
had justified)

I only thought she simplified the complicated,
and authorized ignorance among those who hated
the time it takes to too understand the coin-laundry of the less
against the dry-cleaning of the more.

Perhaps she was right; even now, I cannot find the
perfect way
to scribble a few lines of poetry that
(I had hoped)
would help or dignify the poor.