Enjoy the World of Cartoons

The Economy

By Linda Settles


Living above it

I go on the web and the bad news is posted every day

Our nation and indeed the world, is in a "bad way,"

As my Grandpa used to say.



Banks have failed and panic reigns in the capitals of kings

Homes are lost as markets crumble & wealth takes wings

and vanishes from our life scene.



If our wealth is our power and our primary source of security

We may be tempted to find a window-- as many in the thirties

did and jump from floor thirteen.



Before we open windows and pull up a chair in our despair

We should stop, and reconsider our decision...

All is not lost and poverty is not a prison.



All losses we experience --here-- on this terrestrial plane

Are merely preparation for the treasures we will gain

If we will look beyond the prospect of our pain



We'll see a world that hid behind our wealth and prosperity

Treasures that are unaffected by this world's economy

We'll walk the woods, as Grandpa did.



A simple man, without a B.A., M.A., or PhD

His house was humble, his friends were many

and I knew that he loved me.



The woods, the streams, and even mosquito infested swamps

Were treasures in his eyes, Maybe Grandpa, after all

Knew where to find the prize



Of living well, a simple life that needed few possessions

The sunset, a deer taken, or a turkey call--a few concessions

to his comforts--these were his mansions.



What is there to fear in the instability of our economy

If we live like Grandpa did? In the midst of what some call poverty

He learned to live each day and to be free.



World markets may crumble and the Dow take its plunge

But we won't be affected if our economy is love.

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--> The poem appeared on authorsden.com

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