{"id":1104,"date":"2013-10-02T12:45:26","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1104"},"modified":"2013-10-02T12:46:54","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T17:46:54","slug":"poem-hard-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/02\/poem-hard-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Hard on the Poor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">Hard on the Poor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Our moral compass<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Goes south<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Skewering<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Those below<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Under lyin&#8217;<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Poverty abashed<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Without abjections<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Needle US<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Too say<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Pricks<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Hand shakers<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">And grand standers<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Razing just for fund<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">He&#8217;ll freeze over<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Before changing any position<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Undertaking another bleak poll<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Never about-facing mistakes<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Fueled by deft ears<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">As the eaves drop on the homeless<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Given props by spooks<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Out of focus groups<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Like miss diagnosing<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">The mortified<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">A rhino virus<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">In the middle of the living<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Room for a growing boy<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Like a Pinocchio knows<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Running up bills<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Virulent peckers<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">A fecund plague<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Deifying gravitas<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">With hearts sow cold<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Bringing them to their sneeze<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">A wretched climax<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Eyes watering<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">When seize it<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Progress<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">And congress<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Members stiff<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">The public<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Relations privatizing<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">A press corpse<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Unable to issue a retraction<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Interminable hacks<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">That even in their coffin<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">They are still<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Convinced that they are<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Looking up<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Mean wile<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Enjoin bye<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">The least of these<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Has been<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">All ready<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Spinning<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">In their gravy<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Known as<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Underground resistance<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Ever more<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Digging their new haunts<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Offering no quarter<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Giving berth<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">To just deserts<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Best served<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Cold<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">As south is south<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">And north is north<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Encompassing awe<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Probity<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This poem offers a bevy of mixed metaphors and social commentary.\u00a0 I wrote this poem before the latest Republican government shutdown, but its themes are eternal in politics.\u00a0 The rich get richer and the poor get the shaft.\u00a0 Republicans moralize to others and then epitomize sleaziness themselves.\u00a0 Politics is governed more by money than the needs of the people.\u00a0 Proselytizing politicians paint themselves into a corner driving their internal contradictions into explosive stupidity matched only by their intransigence.<\/p>\n<p>Still, reality gives feedback.\u00a0 Karma wends its way into the path of even the morally blind.\u00a0 With wisdom, the subtle nuances of life&#8217;s ways can be discerned from a distance, and it&#8217;s gentle signs guide us in harmony.\u00a0 With increasing foolishness, a dulled capacity to read wisdom&#8217;s kindly signs, ever-increasingly blunt warnings of impending danger will be offered.\u00a0 If we insist on continuing down ever-increasingly perilous paths, mere red flags will turn to violence &#8212; sometimes physical violence, sometimes emotional violence, sometimes political violence.\u00a0 Violence is the province of fools, whose understanding ends at blunt instruments.\u00a0 May we keep our eye on wisdom&#8217;s gentle signs guiding us to harmony amidst giant oafs clumsily swinging their blunt instruments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hard on the Poor Our moral compass Goes south Skewering Those below Under lyin&#8217; Poverty abashed Without abjections Needle US Too say Pricks Hand shakers And grand standers Razing just for fund He&#8217;ll freeze over Before changing any position Undertaking &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/02\/poem-hard-poor\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[294,196,148,446,349,359,86,66,155,658,94,17,215,107,112,147,585,601,119,496,106,299,163,389],"class_list":["post-1104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-awe","tag-congress","tag-government","tag-harmony","tag-karma","tag-life","tag-metaphors","tag-money","tag-moral","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-political","tag-politics","tag-poor","tag-poverty","tag-privatizing","tag-progress","tag-reality","tag-republican","tag-resistance","tag-rich","tag-stupid","tag-violence","tag-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>POEM: Hard on the Poor | Poems, 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