Ode to Poverty

Soft-spoken devils and slimy smiles,

Blanket the Earth for miles and miles,

Broken windows and shattered hearts,

Where every man and woman did their part,

They look at the world and silently pretend

That their half-hearted lies and money they lend

Might change the world, those hideous fools,

As they buy new houses, cars and pools,

As people sleep on the streets as they drive by

And maybe, just maybe, it might warrant a cry.

Perhaps when they turn on their big screen TVs,

Between the weather and sports, they might just see

Images of an impoverished community,

And, they might ask themselves honestly

Rather it was worth that new house or car

And if this will leave an unspeakable scar,

Before flipping the channel on their high-def TV

And watching that retarded squirrel ski.

Yet these images that flash before their eyes

Won't stay with them till the day that they die,

And the prospect of changing the world

Is cast aside for diamonds and pearls.