I recall before the world was rich
When I was just a little titch
Celebrations then were very few
For then we had so much more to do
As poverty is like that you know
I remember Christmases long past
My present was new shoes meant to last
Not a big box of creme de menthe
That would be gone in less than a month
But are we as rich as all that now seems
As we waste money beyond our means
Struggling to pay our debts later on
When the bank's credit has now all gone
Celebrations are all ebb and flow
We're told we are happy so think we are
So we are like cogs in a motor car?
Just consumers for rich magnates gain
Who rub their hands quite blind to our pain
Image of African children being given long lasting sandals found at https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org
I think there's nothing sadder than to be described as "just consumers." (Thank goodness, poets are producers!)
ReplyDeleteI, too, got the shoes as a gift because I needed them. And I didn't think it was fair because other kids had more, but I didn't dare let on. Gratitude was all and is all, no matter how much excess we have to wade through. Poetry and God will save us from becoming just consumers, I think!
ReplyDeleteI was telling someone the other day about a Christmas where i got just a shirt to wear to work. We didnt have much then.
ReplyDeleteThen later i made six figures and we got out of debt but i couldnt tell you where the money went.
As a teacher now i make considerably less but we are content.
Its def not things or money that makes you happy.
I really resonate with the message in your poem. My mom always said thebest christmas she ever spent was, during the Depression, when she was small, each child received one orange, and a handmade little car their father whittled for them, which they played with all day long.
ReplyDeleteIndeed the rich magnates! Don't get me started on that!!!! I remember Christmases long past as well when I was happy to receive a new warm nightgown!
ReplyDeleteI remember Christmases like that too. But mostly I remember the love of family who made it all so very rich.
ReplyDeleteYour words mirror my feeling exactly, and sadness at the commercial travesty Christmas has become. I long for those simple times.
ReplyDeleteWe're told we are happy so think we are... that's the big marketing machine at work.. and how quietly we succumb, without even realising!!
ReplyDeleteConsumerism has been eating the spirit of celebration for much too long. Soon, there will be nothing left. And that is so saddening...
ReplyDeleteYou are right. The heart was rich, warm and full of love and light. Money definitely did not matter that much. Life had other centers. Today life pivots round marketing practices and artificial wants. So our happiness is remote-controlled by the corporate giants. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWe can change it if we want to. The problem is how many want to?
ReplyDeleteWise words, Robin. The best things in life are free: love, laughter, kindness, a smile, snow, sun ...and the list goes on. Yet many are sold on the idea of "celebration" by maxing out their credit cards. How sad!
ReplyDeleteWise thoughts! The answer encompasses a combination of psychology, sociology, ecology, evolution, economics, and marketing. Pathetic....
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Robin.
Makes me feel that we are all poor puppets waiting for the rich to make us dance. Wi dear full, Robin
ReplyDeleteWealthy in every way except financially is probably the best way to be. Merry Christmas !
ReplyDeleteThere is truly a lot of excess in our lives, which lead to clutter and not any joy. I feel happier when I am gifted a potted plant than the latest phone, but it's become the norm for us to spend on unnecessity. Your poem evoked in me a lot of opinions about what is currently going on in my life
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