Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHARITY, by HELEN EMMA MARING


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHARITY, by                    
First Line: Ten cents for veterans
Last Line: Back into your shoe.
Alternate Author Name(s): Payne, Lorrin A., Mrs.
Subject(s): Charity; Philanthropy


Ten cents for veterans,
Ten cents for China;
A meal for a poet
Who needs to be fed.
Some milk in a saucer
For a tom-cat prowler,
And crumbs for the sparrows --
For bounty has fled.

A dime for a cripple
Who panhandles aptly;
Perhaps he doesn't need it.
Well, anyway, who cares?
A bar of chocolate candy
For an undernourished newsboy,
And a sandwich for old Bertha
Up the crooked stairs.
A red cross membership
(A dollar is a fortune)
And postage for a scribbler
Who needs to sell his wares.

Ten cents for veterans,
Ten cents for China...
You can't buy lunch today,
There was too much to do.
Tighten up your belt again
(You have shared your fortune)
And fix the cardboard lining
Back into your shoe.





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