Monday 24 October 2011

Magpie 88















If you can eat a feast when men are dying,
If you can wear fur coats when kids run bare.
if you can pass a beggar who is crying,
Or see a suffering child, and fail to care.
If you can travel in chauffeur-driven splendour,
Or go to gambling clubs to find your fun.
If you can't see the poverty around you,
I fear you'll find you're on your own, my son.


Thanks to Magie Tales, and apologies to Kipling.

19 comments:

  1. nice...i can see and it breaks my heart daily....

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  2. No apology necessary .. this is intense and provides a great message.

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  3. Beautiful!

    I'm always torn when passing a beggar. I avoid eye contact and clench my purse like a miser and feel bad.

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  4. Brilliant! But it's hard to keep put your hand in your pocket when you have no spare cash of your own and your fear for your own children.

    We can only all give so much as much as we would like to give more. And now with another earthquake, ongoing famine the crash of the euro etc... it seems neverending

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  5. A message that should shame our selfish hearts...great job

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  6. That's really meaningful, Frances, and so well expressed.

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  7. Excellent poem and a tribute to Kipling, with no apologies needed.

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  8. Sure beats Kipling's ending of "you'll be a man, my son" (sigh).

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  9. Good poem, Frances. Reminds us that there are always people worse off than we are and that perhaps it wouldn't hurt too much to share just a little of what we have.

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  10. Brian, Helen, Yvonne, Jarmara, Susie, Rosemary, Lolamouse, Kathy and Patsy - thanks very much for your generous comments. I'm sorry I can't write individual replies as I've just collected two very - um, how shall I put this? - busy little grandsons, and am trying to entertain them!

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  11. It is a versus world indeed!

    ps......hope the babysitting is going well......!!

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  12. Thanks, Lena. I have just finally turned the "babies'" light off and hope they are going to sleep. But they were READING, so I'm happy!

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  13. Love the poem (loved the original too) and think that the sentiment is spot on.

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  14. Strong message. Thanks for sharing it.

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  15. hosasiBRILLIANT, Frances! I bet there's more more than one writer who wishes they'd thought of that. LOVE it (Kipling would too) Well done!

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