I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

9 November 2013

Being Poor Is Too Expensive

Being poor is not enough
being poor is not enough…continued

and continued and continued;
you get into the way of it.
Frugal becomes the norm.

Being poor is temporary
being poor is waiting

and the waiting goes on a long time.
What are we waiting for?
We are waiting not to be poor.

Being poor is becoming trendy
being poor is an interesting experience

for a while — then it just becomes dreary
and you’d like things like luxury
and self-indulgence. You get sick of poor.

Being poor is that it deprives people of their dreams
being poor is the tragic song that has no particular music
being poor is like a maze

and maybe one never gets out
but keeps on running and running
endlessly, up to countless dead ends.

Being poor isn't
being poor is a frame of mind
being poor is the ultimate opportunity handed a person.

Oh how that craps me off!
Try it, muthafuckers, and then
give me your New Age BS.


Oops! I don't think this one goes in a book for children!



Also inspired by a dVerse prompt for a poem based on Googlisms:  
every line, including title, that begins with 'being poor' is from Google.



22 comments:

  1. Whew, Rosemary, you have really made a strong statement with your poem....you have given me some new insights!

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    1. Hope I didn't shock you with the last verse! (Sometimes I don't know what I feel until I write it.)

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    2. Ha, Rosemary! Takes quite a bit to shock me. Smiles.

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  2. Yeah, New Age BS it sure is - & you didn't shock me anyway... though I admit to being a bit surprised to hear that other phrase coming from your mouth :) - but I can't now imagine the poem without it, gives it punch

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    1. Ha ha, yes people are always surprised when I swear. (Which is not infrequent.) I'm glad you think it is right for the poem.

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  3. 'being poor is an interesting experience' ~ for sure! Thanks for visiting :)

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  4. ha i had tht interesting experience for a few years...its all relative though...poor here is rich in some places....i will take humility at any level you know...smiles..dang, attitude in the last line...ha!

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    1. Indeed it is all relative, and I actually know that I'm rich compared with some.

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  5. Yeah, TRY IT! Right sharing of world resources is the only way! Home run, Rosemary.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. Sadly, your solution still seems a long way off.

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  6. Being poor is a state no one wants to be in! Ugh...made me think of those who have never been in someone's shoes but give unsolicited advice anyway.

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  7. Oh this was stark.. love how you weaved in your own comments here.. this is absolutely brilliant-

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  8. In the UK the best advice for survival is: Either be very very rich or very very poor.
    Those in the middle get squeezed from both sides and have a very very hard time at the minute.

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    1. Well, I'm not very, very poor. Not homeless, not starving, not going without medical care — just constantly juggling the budget. I am not usually so fed up with it as this poem sounds!

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  9. an opportunity?? well, i understand your last lines...

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  10. The way you alternate your Googlism lines with your own sharp observations underlines a power that would not be achieved by the list poem lines alone. You've crafted a sardonic strength in your lines that demands attention.

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    1. Thankyou, Sam. Yes, the Google lines alone would have led in quite a different direction. :-D

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