by Aldo Tambellini

 get the poor off the street
 & ship them to nowhere oblivion
 get the objectionable unsavory sight
 far away
 dispersing with endangered species
 & then forget they ever existed
      there is no place for poverty
      in cosmetic democracy

 get the poor off the street
 & let neglect & time
 consume their remaining days
 evaporating their existence into air

      get the rich to wall street
      to invest in third world country cheap labor
      then build cultural monuments
      with deductable tax dollars
      with the artists glorifying their wealth

 make the rich super rich
 to be mentors & models
 of successful democracy in action
 for the world to emulate

      but for God's sake
      get the damn poor off the street
      anywhere out of here
          anywhere to disperse
         out of sight

march 21 95