No Greater; No Lesser

It’s easy enough to forget
Not all the world lives
In a land of strip malls
And freeways
With manicured lawns
And high rise apartments

Where a bicycle
May be a family’s
Only mechanical transportation
And great fortune buys
A donkey and a cart

It’s easy enough to forget
Even after having been there
Spent time with and among
The people of the world
Who consider themselves
Wealthy and secure
While owning so little material
Commanding so little wealth

The people
Who are no greater
And no lesser
For the value of their possessions
Or the education they are allowed
Or any other outward marker
I have been taught
Signifies sophistication
Civilization
Value

Are these not
People who love
No less
Laugh
No less
Live with vigour
And consequence
And meaning
No less

Who are to be valued
And loved
No less

It is the lesser of us
Who believe otherwise
And it is they
Whom I pity
If these lesser beings
Exploit those with less
Then it is they
Whom I abhor