not always

“For the needy shall not always

         be forgotten,

   nor the hope of the poor

         perish forever.” Psalm 9:18

while we zip by

the family on the side

of the road, you pull over

   to see how you can help;

while we toss hope

into the compost bin, so

it can fertilize our fears,

   you resurrect it

   to new life and

   spread it over the poor.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman