BY JAN HAAG
DINNER ON A GOLD PLATE
5-5-00
In a high wind
eating a grocery-store picnic
the sun blazed down on
me
in my winter coat none too warm
as the wind howled
and I
thought about the disintegration
of the world
getting older
groaning
the waters heating
the ice melting
its forests torn up
by the roots
its population like
vermin dying dying dying
so that
the rich could live in
houses as big as Solomon's
palace where Sheba
brought
the gold she humped
into town and was met
with dinner on
a gold plate
and indifference.
Too much gold too much
wealth
what's the point of living in a high wind
on an icy day
gulping eating
enjoying the sun like a lizard
wondering why the sun
was so bright
while the wind was so cold
wondering how the
rich
could feel so indifferent
to pain and filth and
poverty
robbing workers of their labor
their daily bread
so
like Solomon they could eat
from gold
even if the wind were
high
and the world and their souls had turned
to ice.
Copyright © 2000 Jan Haag
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Jan Haag may be reached via e-mail: jhaag@u.washington.edu
BY JAN HAAG