Generic

This is a poem 
for the downtrodden, 
the ones who social workers 
call "marginalized" 
for the child vendors 
of gum, 
who should be in school 
or at play, 
this is a poem 
for the shoeshine 
bent over all day, 
and for Indian women 
huddled in their billowing skirts 
midst herbs, trinkets and sweets 
it is a poem for the denizens 
of streets,,, 
And blind beggars 
and the limbless, 
for those without insulin 
for those who must choose- 
food or medicine? 
This is a poem for the poor- 
who Jesus said will always 
be with us, 
and it is also for the indifferent 
who walk away... 
(The well-off, at least for today). 
For the merciful, the compassionate and just, 
may they too, always be with us.

This Poem...