Poor People

To show the child he’s blessed a wealthy father took his son on a trip...

Native American communities, sadly, are among some of America's most impoverished, it is a society out of balance.

(CLEVELAND) - Salem-News.com is one of the few news organizations in the world today that carries poetry, and we can not overstate the importance of maintaining this wonderful word form of art as a mean of expression.

In fact the world would be a much better place on almost every level if simple things like poetry were to find their way back into the hearts of people in this vastly developed, technological age.

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Poor People by Luke Easter w/an Unknown Author

To show the child he’s blessed a wealthy father took his son on a trip,
Not to pleasurable exotic islands, ski slopes or on a fancy cruise ship,
The extremely rich dad decided on opening a never before seen door,
This dude would expose to his son the opposite of their lives, the poor.

Papa owned acres of land, apartments, office buildings far and wide,
Maybach Mercedes, tailored Italian suits, a Rolex he wore with pride,
Farm land with cattle, horses, sheep, lakes far as the eye could see,
It was where they’d spend a few days with a far less fortunate family.

Upon their return home the father asked his son, "how was the trip?"
He was surprised to see a huge smile spread across his boy’s lips,
'It was great, Dad.' 'Did you see how poor people live? ' “For sure!”
“What did you learn? ” “Well, to start out we have 1 dog they have 4.”

“We have a pool going to the garden they have a creek with no end,
Yeah! Neither do they know how wide it is or even where it begins,
We swam, chased frogs, caught fish, watched chickens run from hens,
Stayed up late roasting marsh mellows & hot dogs, playing pretend.”

“And where we have imported lanterns to light up our yard at night,
They have very few trees, the night time stars shine twice as bright,
We have servants who serve us while they are serving many others,
Every one’s so friendly it’s like a family reunion of sisters & brothers.”

“We have walls to protect us with robot walking, angry looking men,
But their protection is nature and a multitude of wonderful friends,
Working together during the day happy as people I’ve never known,
My first sad moment was when you said it’s time to pack & go home.”

“Sunday morning you were sleep, I went to church, what a choir,”
I recognized most of the singers from Saturday night’s camp fire,
Did you ever know about the guy who died, nailed to the cross?
So, what did the preacher mean, are we the ones who are lost?”

“Exactly who is this Jesus fellow, was Christ his last name or first,
And what kind of Father would allow his son to suffer such hurt,
The beating he took, by his stripes, I didn’t even know I was sick,
I definitely have to check this out, sounded real, not like a trick.”

“Kind of confusing trying to understand something I never heard,
Calvary, salvation, faith, I’ve already forgot most of those words,
Why do people shout, run around & pat each other on the back?
Crying and hugging each other, I think I want some more of that.”

“Thanks dad, you’re the greatest, showing me how poor they are,
Now, when I grow up and leave home I won’t have to go very far,
Wasting time to look and search or seek real love and happiness,”
And instead of shaking papa’s hand, on his cheek he planted a kiss.

By Luke Easter w/an Unknown Author

Luke Easter is a poet who writes about things that are very close to the heart of Salem-News.com. Another former U.S. Marine, Luke heals the world with an approach that reaches people on a different level, one known for centuries, yet too often forgotten in the one we live in.

We live in a world of social & economic injustice. The main reason for founding America in the first place was to relieve the oppression of the King of England. Patrick Henry said it best, “give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, all too often death seems to be the only way out. Why is there such a high suicide rate especially among teens, in the land of the free & the home of the brave? What makes headlines? Good news? Ha! More depressing stories than anything else. I feel poetry takes an edge off the hurt of bad news while still delivering it but in a, “glitzy” sort of way. Giving a different perspective. Kind of like slap in the face as opposed to a knife in the back. At least with the slap you’ll live to see another day and you will know whom it’s from. I wasn’t here for the beginning of the world but at 59, I just might be here for the end.

Even though it’s still a knife, rhyme poetry helps to dull the blade. And that’s my job. You can write to Luke Easter at: lyricsfromlucas@aol.com

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COLLI September 2, 2011 11:13 am (Pacific time)

You make an excellent point Luke. Each person perceives wealth in their own way. You have to ask yourself "What is rich?". If you have to have the biggest, the best, the newest, the most, and the fastest, you will have all that money can buy but you will never be truly rich because you will never be happy for long. Rich is having enough to eat, a roof over your head, someone who loves you, clothes on your back, warm memories, and being happy with what you have. Continually baying after ever more material things even if you can afford them can only lead to unhappiness because material things cannot love and material things cannot share memories. The young son in your poem had wisdom far beyond his years. You have offered a beautiful lesson Luke. Thanks.

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