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

[R J Askew]

'Let not vain hope decive your mind' ... that is me, mind well deceived. But without my insane hope I'd consider myself a pauper. Of course this is insane. But the whole of life is insane. For it to be sane we wld have to abolish paupers, totally, no more paupers. But we wld have to make everyone the same to do so and I for one do not feel the same as most of my fellow men, most of whom I want little, if anything, to do with. I don't think we can fix life. Christ and Marx have not managed it. But is it that broken? Isn't infinite variety and difference the essence of nature? Your poem makes me think.

[Sean M. Addams]

very well done thought provoking piece.... like the message in this alot..nice job on this one!!!

[Stacey Watts]

Very inspiring piece. Nicely written. The flow is wonderful. Beautiful job.

[vandana]

An inspiring message of equality thats well written.

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

Death is ultimate.......a beautiful verse conveys the eternal truth of life.

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

The last line especially sent chills up my spine - a true mark of worthy writing. Well said. I see you are on a roll with this theme. I hope you have not lost one close to you but these thoughts remind me much of losing my grandparents honestly. To watch them go was so painful yet I hope they are at peace - for richer or poorer.
Light,
Siddartha

[~LeeAnn~]

We all may be different but in the end we are all the same....great write...

[ABitBrokenPoetry]

beneath us all, different shapes, different colors, we are all the same & we will all end the same. deep, intelligent, well written piece.

[cest la vie]

Very inspiring, thought provoking write, Tate. Love this poem.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

Love the last verse of this, as for me it ties all you wrote in.. no matter our material worth here on earth
in the afterlife we are all the same .. as it should be in the here and now in many ways .. your poem speaks
of the humanity all should show for our friends, kin and those that to me , we are all akin to in the universe..sisters and brothers of the universe. Faith hope and love , and the greatest is love, for me.. ..this poem is so beautiful in every way.

Chloe

[An owl on the moon]

You have a powerful way of expressing compassion and justice, through vivid imagery and profound writing. This is such a wonderful, thought provoking work.