poor | I Do Run

We met every Friday at 5:30

I gave without thinking

You were never poor in spirit.

Me, in my Abercrombie and Fitch,

You, with your Aromatic and Filth

We met every Friday at 5:30.

Pasta and tacos,

Admonishments and side eye

I gave without thinking.

Survival your strength

Laughter your life line

You were never poor in spirit

Thank you to Jamie Dedes at The Poet By Day for this Wednesday Writing Prompt. Her challenge: Based on your experience or observation, tell us about poverty.

I used the cascade form for this piece. Thank you to Michele Vecchitto at Writing and Reflections for introducing me to this lovely poetry form through her poem, “Quiet Spaces.”

Poverty comes in many forms – not just material and monetary poverty, but poverty of spirit and soul – a much worse malady in my opinion. The poem above stems from my time volunteering at a soup kitchen. It’s where I learned compassion and what being rich truly means.