On Philanthropy

I.

Show us photographs
of the unfortunate children
at the grandiose ballroom;
Sometimes cancerous,
sometimes orphaned -
eyes hollow with AIDS,
ribs caged with hunger,
faces charred with indigence.

And it rouses among us,
pity - a derivative of Sorrow;
Which is
the universal mother of emotions,
as primal as a cosmic waltz - 
Pedigreed along the tree of life.

At the banquet today,
fill up our flutes.

Let us eat steak
and a basket of bread.
Make a toast
and take a vow
to better this world,
walk for causes,
and stamp names on circulated bulletins.

This is how we do
Philanthropy -
A ceremony of gift giving.

God bless America.
God bless the Queen.