Follow the Aid Chain

Follow the Aid chain
watch it shrink
shedding its fat in the corruption sink
first in Europe then far away
in the pockets of the friends
who make the word “Charity” stink

We praise the lord God
for making us superior
as we share our bounty
at least, the bit we have over
this heightens that feeling
of them being inferior
and gives us a warm glow
as our egos waxes fatter

The charities whip us to guilt ridden stress
via photos on television
of children in distress
starving black children in need of our help
we are magnanimous and give to the whelps

The costs of these kind actions
are not shown on the screen
but they begin before the first cent
appears on the scene
the experts are hired for thousands of pounds
and the firms in the west
don’t sell themselves for a song

On each step of the way
a bit of money remains hanging
but with the destination in sight
the pay-offs are really spinning
and the generous benefactors
smile and expect for their bequests
that people in the Third World
show gratitude and a new zest

Praise to the gods out there in the west
for the loans at the highest rates of interest
the old drugs with an expiry date in the past
food left over from a harvest that can’t last
so the givers are angry when
the need remains high
and blame the victims for their misfortunes
and their miserable lives
© Lila Joseph