Poverty Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

"Poverty, thou art the bitterest vice"

Thou sit cross legged, on the doors,
Thine leaden eyes, long teeth,
Vampire like. An admonition of evil.
On a wintry night, cold, without mercy:
Thou travel in the bones, in blood.
Thou let forget, prayers, and a happy
Demeanor. A sharp blade, of ill fortune.
Let, beg, destroy, be humble and on knees,
Nothing on thine brow shall melt.
A visceral pain, bleeding, an age spent
Waste. It is one, above, or below in the earth's
Womb. The one is misery, the other peace.

Sadiqullah Khan
Peshawar
March 8,2013.

Kitchen sink, Santa Cruz: