Paupers

 

Let us look to our fellow man

live not in hopes that have been

Are we so different each of us

that we cannot feel for fellow kin

 

Let not your best friends live with want

fill lives with endless flavor

Always take much less than you give

as then you will know Gods favor

 

Let no vain hope deceive your mind

our short lives hastened streams be

Doomed in end to fall apart

like spent waves return to the sea

 

As with all the humble rivers roll

death will level property and pride

Awaiting providence and time

rich and poor sleep side by side

No claim to copyright fair usage assumed.

Author's Note

Are we not afraid of the thought that we are no better?

Reviews

[Workvio]

Your heart has penned a beautiful piece of poetry that speaks to all those of tender heart and compassion ... And ...Yes, sadly we, as mankind, the Human Race, are afraid of the very thought, of admitting and facing the fact that we are no better than any other person on the planet ... Instead, we prefer to find some way to assert ourselves as better, in a position above, than others ... To quote myself from my article Is God Illogical As Hell?, there is an all too present and active, "character flaw in human nature that causes men to assert and believe that they are somehow better than others and, hence: more sophisticated; more refined; more civilized; more worthy; more deserving; more holy; more righteous; more intelligent; more knowledgeable, more wiser, more cunning; more deceiving; and more willing to take what they need or want from those unable to stop them." ... I believe this character flaw, fatally intrinsic to mankind, is the true cause of war, not religion as so many today attest in their anti-religion atheistic fervor ... Now, I am not a Christian, nor am I Muslim ... I am also not observant of Orthodox Judaism, though my personal beliefs are Hebrew in nature and orientation ... At the same time, I am a Freethinker, willing to set all I believe, all I have ever believed, aside in search of truth, even if such truth should conflict with truths I have held sacred all my life ... I value truth above all else ... In seeking after truth, I am a fan of the Human Race, for there is only one race of mankind upon this earth, and that is the Human Race ... There are people of different complexions, different languages, different cultures, different customs, different traditions, different nations, different religions, etc., but regardless of all of our differences in being so differently different, I firmly attest that there is only one race of mankind upon planet Earth: The Human Race. In attentively attesting all that I so vehemently attest, I also attest that there is, must be, a "Creator of all that is and will ever be: God--An Ultimate Creative Source Point Of Origin Of All Existence," as per my article, Guess God's Gone Golfing ... Quite obviously the beauty of your poem and the message that speaks of compassion and love towards your fellow man, in not thinking oneself better or above others, has inspired me to a spasm of babbling about things very dear to me ... Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece ...

[Tate Morgan]

Marvin thank you I too am one who believes in the human soul. I wish I could live to see our species get through their infancy. Sadly we are so self destructive. i hold all kinds of ideas on god. But i do not ascribe to the ideals I was weened on in Christianity. I wrote one called "My God" that questioned everything i ever was taught. He is to me not responsible nor can he be sited as in favor of any of our darker traits.That said we are far removed from the truth But as i see it . The question posed "Are we our brothers keeper?". Or do we simply mouth the words"There by the grace of God go I"? Time has a way of wearing us down. The old recriminations seem to ring out hollow as we ourselves become polished by the winds of time. In that end we see that love shines bright upon the simple truths of life. We find that one thing that makes life so worth the pain, that of unconditional love of another that both grants us the strength and grace to struggle on.

[Workvio]

Wise words well said, my new friend ... I am convinced that religion can and does serve a somewhat useful purpose in giving a foundation of hope and peace to our lives ... And so I hold to some beliefs inside the that quiet corner of my heart, but with my mind that attempts to think reasonably and logically, I confess that if the true Creator of every thing that is and will ever be (favorite words of mine) has taken the time, in ancient times past, to personally reveal Himself to mankind, then that revelation of His Personification, and His Character has likely been altered, intentionally or not, by the tampering hand and exaggerating tongue of man ... As author Robert Eisenman states it: In those ancient days when some important event (i.e. a miracle) took place it was purposefully exaggerated to insure that the event would not be forgotten but remembered always, BUT something very real did take place to initiate the exaggeration of a true event ... So, I live my life (also raised in a Christian home but always questioning things that do not gee haul in the New Testament) in hopes that God of Israel is an accurate account in hopes that there truly may be some sort of resurrection from the dead, while facing the very real reality that when this life is over that may well be all there is and was ever intended to be ... So and thus, what we do now in this life with this life for the lives of others is the only things that we can prove truly matters and has any lasting value ... All else is based upon hopes that cannot be proven until we lie in the grave--far to late to make any adjustments in the thinking and holding of our personal beliefs, having arrived at, The Road To Too Soon (my latest article on this very topic) ... I hope to have many good conversations with you in the future, and recommend to you a very good friend and a Freethinker, Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU, a prolific poet and distinguished gentleman ...

[Tate Morgan]

While i see the bible as a sort of history book of the Israelites.I find it has meaning to us today It proves the value of kinship .If we ever get past the divisions of humanity I will be happy. The one truth is that we all love the memory of home. and the days when we grew so tall and strong beneath the shelter of loved ones. As in the times of the ancient mariner we all hear the call of sirens that gesture us to sail home. Continuity of purpose flows from the wellspring of our lives. In the end we all find we are drawn inexorably home, to the hearth from around which we told our tales of long ago and spun our yarns of a life well lived. The well spent life will always beckon from the winds of change a call for home. "Only Earth bound man still clings to the dark and poisoning superstition. That his world is bounded by the nearest hill. His Universe ends at river shore. His common humanity is enclosed in the tight circle of those who share his town or his views or the color of his skin."
Robert Kennedy

[harman kour]

Aww... overwhelming!!! Poor and destitute have always been neglected by the so-called Rich ones... Its awful to ride in an AC-car and see your fellow beings with their little children clung to their bodies working laboriously in the sweltering heat...
How can we be apathetic and ignorant??

These lines were the best-

As with all the humble rivers roll.
Death will level property and pride.
Awaiting providence and time.
Rich and poor sleep side by side.

[Domenic Luciani]

This one had a really strong message and I liked the picture. You really have a strong talent for finishing your poems with an amazing line. Keep up the good work!

[Coyote Poetry]

I like to read your poetry. Always can learn something. The rich and the poor will become dirt. Can't take anything with us. A outstanding poem. Thank you.
Coyote

[Marie Anzalone]

Beautifully penned piece, Tate, with a caring message. We all sleep side by side at the begining and the end, we just forget that fact in the middle.

[Ebb and Flow]

I find myself liking this because this shadows my very feelings. I love all people equally, and would give everything I owned to help someone with a need. In the end...we all really aren't so different.


Krys

[Liza]

take much less than you give, then you'll know God's favor. Amazing and profound insight, grateful to have come across your writing.

[Sincerely, Alex]

You painted a picture.

There is such truth in your words that this gave me goosebumps.

Wonderful write.

[NM Sarah]

Thanks for this. Indeed, poor and rich do sleep side by side, but becasue we don't live side by side we indulge in a little intentional ignorance. I believe it is a universal truth that all people are essentially the same. There are whole hidden populations which we ignore, negate and deny to make ourselves more comforable as we go about consumer lives.

[cquig]

A great message so eloquently stated, and I have really enjoyed your choice of photos. Amazing, I am touched once again.

[The Wave]

i like that this is spoken in a way where you're suggesting a way of life that should be more favored than another. and although it seems obvious, people can find it hard to stay true to these simple words or actions.


"Always take much less than you give." "Let no vain hope deceive your mind."
this is simple, said in only 7 words, and yet hard for many to comprehend. if only more of us could be selfless.

another good write,
good job.