Poor Richard's Almanac

Poor Richard could not have had an almanac
If Rich was really poor
The only way that he could get one
Was if Rich was rich before

You see the poor they don’t have extra
To buy such things as books
Yes reading truly is fundamental
But the money the gas man took

Poor Richard was surely not healthy
But he could least afford to be ill
With little or no money coming in
How would he pay the bill

I hear the poor are really filthy
Messy and very unclean
But perhaps in the midst of such hunger
Some dirt just might go by unseen

Poor Richard was surely not happy
He most likely lived in despair
Maybe he could not see any purpose to his life
Or felt cursed just for being here

The life of the poor is a hard one
For they work and they toil for their bread
They wake the sun up each morning
At night they put the moon to bed

Poor Richard was a sad man
Ashamed of his status in life
His bitterness would poison his spirit
He’d have his revenge through strife

The poor are abused and mistreated
They are taken for granted and used
They are promised but soon are neglected
They are unwanted even in pews

Poor Richard must have been a frightened man
Afraid that his poverty might be preyed upon
Defenseless in the legal-monetary shell game
At the mercy of the gavel, the badge and the gun

The poor are tracked and hunted
Suspected and accused of everything
To them justice truly is blind
Only their blood stains her sword and her scales are imbalanced as they swing

Poor Richard must have been insecure
Unsure of basic things in life
Not certain that he would have a home
To shelter his children and wife

Urban renewal is urban upheaval
To those who have no bureaucratic-monetary say
To make room for more civic pride
It is their homes and cultures that are bulldozed away

Poor Richard must have been a strong man
For the world to not have broken his back
The burdens of the life of a poor man
Would cause a weaker or lesser man to crack

To be poor means to have nothing
Nothing of the wealth of this world
To be poor in wealth is to be rich in faith
So now who has the real pearl


Copyright 1995