The cash
scorched their pockets,
so they drove to the shops.
They bought
silly hats for Ascot,
nifty jackets to match the fashion,
trainers imported from dim Asian sweatshops,
nasty plastic bracelets for no special reason,
dresses that hungry children had studded with beads
so secretaries could look like hippies when they hit the festival fields.
They slurped greedy treats
while on TV screens, malnourished children
struggled to breathe.
“Charity begins at home,” said mum,
speedily switching to BBC where a documentary
displayed equally disturbing images. “We can’t
let the kids see this,” said dad,
and switched channel again.
“We have no money for a third holiday
since the kitchen extension was so pricey,” said mum,
“and we can’t afford to improve our second home
as we’ve just had to pay for your shiny red
penis extension in the garage,”
she added.
They ordered oodles of takeaway
and ate chunks of cake while they waited.
When the food arrived they shovelled a few bites
then rudely shoved their plates away,
complaining that they were full.
Mum scraped waste into the obese garbage bin,
wondering why
she had so little appetite.
Meanwhile, in Somalia,
mothers held their breath, hunger forgotten as they watched
the struggle of small chests, hearing not their own wails
when deathly silence fell.
.
.
©Jane Paterson Basil
Very powerful Jane, I think you’ve put me off my brekkie. The grossness of some in our societies astounds me, and their selfish ability to live in a glass cocoon without looking in the mirror is beyond my comprehension, your poem is superb. 😊 xx
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Thank you Ivor. I hate the phrase; “Charity begins at home”. Roughly translated, it means “I don’t give a flying fig for the suffering of humanity, especially if their skin is a different colour than mine.” xx
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I am yet to see a kid with such a thoughtful expression. Might grow up to be an imtellectual, wherever he starts from.
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He’s beautiful, isn’t he. I wish I could find out when the photo was taken, and what he’s doing now.
I wonder what Martin Luther King looked like at that age…
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Oh, what a thought! Martin Luther King? Is this how great men look at a young age?
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Maybe. I think that greatness is usually present at birth, or from an early age.
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BTW, Jane, did you receive the mail I sent you with the Haeling thru Writing exercises?
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How long ago did you send it? I’m forever mislaying mail, as I can’t seem to keep up…
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Will resend it today. It will be easy to check.
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Such profound words of truth – sadly 😦
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But we should always remember this:
“Many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere, life is full of heroism.”
(Max Ehrmann; Desiderata)
xx
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Absolutely. Case in point is the current rescue of the ‘cave boys’ in Thailand.
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What an incredible rescue mission – and all of them saved!
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Yeah, amazing. I bet there will be movie deals struck for this one, if not already in progress.
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Wow I want to get everyone to read this
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I’ve been staring at your comment for a while, and I find myself lost for words, so I’ll just say a humble thank you xx
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💓 I’m just very glad to read you poetess
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I think it must be my respect for you that leaves me speechless… xx
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Then I’m a very happy person today because I’ve been reading you for aong time since finding you through Raili and I particularly love your poetry so that means a lot to me. You’re the kind of mind I like reading because you always make me question and think. Our society doesn’t do that very much nowadays.
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It means a lot to me to be told that. Sometimes when I write it feels as if I’m doing little more than recycling old ideas. Maybe that’s because my mother was a forward-looking free-thinker, and we used to discuss everything under the sun.
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That’s where you get your brain from then, but the difference is, our generations don’t have as much as prior generations by way of good conversation and thinking and ideas. So we’re left feeling rudderless. I have never thought you recycled but I know what you mean. It’s hard to meet real thinkers these days you must miss those conversations as I know I do with my grandmother.
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That’s us the consumer society. Far better to try and create than consume. I love your poetry.
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Thank you. It’s easy for me – I like to write, but I don’t enjoy shopping.
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What makes a difference in one person’s life or in hundreds of lives is not merely a stack of checks; what makes a difference is you contributing your many gifts at your level and your capacity.
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You put that very well. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment
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