Oh God,
poverty without remorse
defies dignity,
eager to rip flesh
from dying child,
like vulture its prey
Oh God,
so many unsteady
patched roofs, and
damp walls
that breathe the chill
of death
Oh God,
mouths remain unfed,
as land barren
like unyeast bread
mocks
a dream
Oh God,
there is falsity
of hope
that amidst relief
yearning
will fade
Oh God,
within me
there is knowing
that I too,
have added to
poverty’s shame
Oh God …
Author notes
My wife is a missionary to children in South Africa. We also try to feed children, often hunderds per sites in our townships, once a week. This is often the only food [two slices of bread and a cup of soup] that is available to them. Some even take this home to share with their family. HIV/Aids have orphaned so many, leaving young children without parents or even members of their extended family.
Your video is worth watching. God bless your interventions.
I give permission to print this poem.
In a list
A contest entry
- I Don't Need This City by Hadji Murad.
3500 points, ended April 25, 2008, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
My eyes are welling!
I was on my way to a rest & afterwards dinner, but now that I've read this incredibly visual & heart wrenching poem I think I'll have to have a good cry. I'm literally chocking back the tears now so I can finish typing. I wasn't prepared for this. I need to send more relief $ to my Church for Africa. I can barely take any news about that tormented country. There are so many beautiful tortured souls there & my heart cries for them all. Africa is a land of beauty, rich culture, resource & aberration of every kind! Father..bring your peace to Africa & the world. Maranantha...
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The difference you make ...
is noted within Higher Realms and it is not measured in slices of bread or cups of soup, but in infinite Love! You and Amor are examples of practical and constant gestures of living Love.
Thank you for this outcry to God, as a reminder that I, too, can do much more.
Love
Myra
-
A revealing cry
to root us in reality.
How easily those of us far away
can put these visions out of our minds.
You bring the message forward
so very clearly.
Kudos to you.
Aesthete
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