Modest Expectations Poem by Raj Dronamraju

This is what we are and this is what we hold dear
In a less than well off community, a cup of black coffee with just the right amount of sugar in it
And anything else seems like an unreasonable demand
The unequal equalizers have succeeded in convincing you that you yourself are the problem

This is who we are and this is how we get along
Bit down too hard and broke an old filling in your mouth
No dental insurance and can't afford to fix it
We are the ones with damaged teeth and damaged set of circumstances

This is for firewood and grocery store sales announced in color supplements in the weekend newspaper
This is for wants stifled and for perimeters agreed to
This is for ice cubes applied to emotions and greed diverted into lemming type follow the leader movements
Accepting our lot in life and shuffling through deprivation