Poverty-stricken

Desperately poor are we who live
Driven by hunger for things
Desperately poor, who do not give
Blinded by selfish wanting

Desperately poor; the heart, cold, vile
Turning a stone-deafened ear
To the anguished cry of mother and child
With no food or clothes to wear

Desperately poor, are we who seek
Treasure of moth-eaten strings
Desperately poor, as fool-hearted thieves
Bound by the striving for things

Desperately poor, the heart enslaved
To temporal pearls of sod
Desperately poor, are we who serve
Our things in place of God

Janet Martin

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matt. 6:19-20