Author: Lindy
Title: Ya Know...
Type of Work: poem
Source: CMv1 #44

© Copyright 2002 Lindy

ya know what i hate?
i hate it when people pretend to be
something they're not
and are offended
when it's pointed out to them.
ya know what makes me sick?
it makes me sick when people
moan and groan and complain
that this world has treated them so badly,
when there are people in this world
much worse off than them.
but it's just my opinion,
ya know?

i hate it when people whine
about how hard their life is -
and they couldn't even begin to
buy a clue about what life is like -
when there are people in this very country
who are hungry and have no place to live.
it makes me sick when i see and hear politicians and religious leaders
preach to us, the unwashed masses, telling us what poor people we are
and that we need them and how much they are taking care of our needs.
how they raise themselves above others,
pat themselves on the back, and give themselves raises;
yet we can't take care of the people in this country
that are sick and need health care.

i hate it that there are superfluous government programs
that are budgeted millions of dollars,
yet we can't afford to take care of our older Americans;
those without whom we would not be where we are
as a society or be who we are as a people.
it makes me sick that movie stars, and sports figures,
and old slut pop divas are paid so much money
when the people who keep this country going
and ensure the future of our children -
the teachers, firefighters, farmers, millworkers, the like -
have to scrimp and scrabble and scrape just to get by.
and then they look at us, those stars -
we, who made them the stars they are -
with contempt and disdain, believing themselves
to be above it all, above us, the faceless crowd.
but it's just my opinion,
ya know?

i hate it when i hear people bitch and bellyache
about what this country owes them,
because they or their people have been deprived or oppressed;
when i feel that the most injustice of all was done
to those who lived here long before
any of those forefathers brought forth
one single foot onto this continent, this nation.
it makes me sick when i see the resources we waste,
the habitats and lives that are destroyed,
tearing our mother earth apart with our bare hands -
she who nourishes and nurtures us;
when we owe her and our land and our protectors -
those who watch over us, no matter what we call them -
our gratitude, our thanks and our humility, our very lives.

but it's just my opinion,
ya know?
maybe other folks don't see things this way,
the way i see them;
maybe it's just me.
and it's just my opinion
but i think it's a crying shame,
just the same...
ya know?