PITY

Pity those
Who over eat
Become obese

Is absurd
When millions
Are hungry

Pity those
Binge drink
Forget
Who they are
Where they are

Destroy their liver
Abuse their body

Conversely
Millions don’t
Even get a drop
Of clean water
To drink

Let alone
Binge drink
Pity those
Who smoke
Take unwanted drugs

Blacken their lungs
Age quicker
Than any one

All the above
Quicken
Their demise

Sadden families
And
Bankrupt governments

Become a liability
By destroying
Themselves & society

Not to sound
Patronising

What we should be doing
Is not pity
But have
Understanding

Awareness & empathy
Pity
The widening gap
Between the haves
And have nots

Pity
The pensioners
Struggling
To make ends meet

After years
Of hard work

That is not
What they expect

Pity
To see abundance
Of child poverty
In the midst
Of plenty

Pity
To see
Homeless people
When there
Are thousands
Of empty or
Boarded up houses

Pity
The untimely death
Of our brave soldiers

Who died & still die
In wars whose causes
Are unconvincing
And full of lies

The solution
Is not whining
And whinging

But rational
Thinking not
Inward looking

Wholistic
Approach and urgent
Practical political action
Not pity
But realistic action