Why?
Why does business lower entry wage…
Disregarding human need?
Why do they profit at others’ expense…
Lusting for power and greed?
Why are things made in foreign lands
Korea, Taiwan or Japan?
Why don’t we produce quality…
Here, with well-skilled hands?
Why does the landlord raise the rents high…
Cash flow his only goal?
Why do politicians line their pockets with gold…
While our nation goes in the hole?
Why do the clergy pass the hungry plate…
As they piously rant and rave?
Why do the prayer-makers sweeten their profits…
Tax dodges, or souls to save?
Why do the teachers know less than most…
Their sheepish bleats in union?
Why are the schools controlled by jocks…
In a frightfully ignorant communion?
Why do developers rape the land…
And bury it in glass and cement?
Where are small homes for the honest men…
I wonder where the good dream went?
Why is the air polluted and brown…
Smelling both deadly and vile?
Who dumped in the waters and poisoned the ground.
And is never brought openly to trial?
Why does the drug lord in respectable cloth…
Continue to ply his trade?
Why do authorities put on a big show…
While Bigger Deals are made?
Why do the merchants who deal in guns…
Walk arm-in-arm with the Boss?
Who gave them carte blanche to blast the world…
Playing both sides of the coin that’s tossed?
Why do pornographers do their ugly deeds…
And have so much to sell?
Why do the buyers have such twisted needs…
And drive themselves, and others, to hell?
Why does the mother leave her newborn child…
Unprotected and liable to harm?
Why does the father relinquish his place…
To practice his empty charm?
Why do the sons and daughters…
Suffer for their parents’ sins?
Why are goodness and gentility forgotten…
What has happened to this place we are in?
Through my life I have learned the answer,
Though debatable it may be…
That the good are punished and the evil rewarded,
That’s what most folks want, you see.
Some questions for the reader:
Personal Response Questions: Why do many people refuse to give attention to these many existing problems; what motivates them? On the other hand, why do a few people express concern and even effort… in trying to build awareness and a need for change and improvement; what motivates them?
Ten Steps To Success In The Modern World
Manipulation is fun… from ten to one… And here, my dear readers,
Is how it is done.
You make them afraid to speak up
Or offend… that’s ten.
You make them grin and bear it and say
“I’m fine… ” that’s nine.
You make them feel it’s impossible to change,
Already too late… that’s eight.
You tell them life is just that way, though
It’s better in heaven… that’s seven.
You teach them they can’t do it, and
The lesson sticks… that’s six.
You convince them it’s unimportant to
Feel alive… that’s five.
You make them adore a life that’s
A bore… that’s four.
You make them believe they can never
Be free… that’s three.
You make them feel guilty, and
In debt to you… that’s two.
You make them feel miserable, that
Life is no fun… that’s one!
Some questions for the reader:
Comprehension Question: What is the writer’s purpose, and what techniques are employed to get the point across?
Personal Response Questions: Do you think this type of poem is an effective way to enlighten others? What does this writer refer to, in using the word “success”? What is your definition of true success in life?
