Poverty is not simply having no money — it is isolation, vulnerability, humiliation and mistrust

I see a foreboding sky on the horizon
I can't talk my way out of my poverty
I can't be the man she wants me to be
I am truely sorry
why should I try to show her?
why should I try to make her see?
the emptiness of my pockets
the emptiness of my belly
Why would she want me?
can poor people be happy?
so many questions...


in the night setting in
stars I see, are free of poverty
with their penniless brilliance
shafts & handles
the emptiness in the dark
all around them
broken & spent
in the mist
halo,
of the moon



I could panhandle the man in the moon
to buy my baby a diamond ring
sparkling wealth some other man can bring
I feel about 2 feet tall
I know a sadness I can't talk about at all
with friends
guilt & shame of
living beyond my means
she may never understand
I have to accept this
pettiness plays so rough on my conscience
helpless
I tell myself to be tough
I am better than a poorman's
breath of fresh air
I am better than another man's
poverty of spirit
I am broken of my wants
I am broken of my greed
I am alone in this world
I am alone in my poverty
free to need
free to go without
poverty is not free
poverty sucks