1.12.2014

The Poor Rich Man


The poor rich man
misheard the gospel.

He thought 
his fellow one percenter
went away mad
instead of sad.

"Oh, My God!"

Not only in church
and nightly by their bedsides
do young girls pray these days.

Wherever they go,
prayer is woven into their talk
like a bright thread of awe.

Even at the pedestrian mall
outbursts of praise
spring unbidden from their glossy lips.

 Billy Collins