In olden days folks seemed to care
About friends and strangers everywhere
Though things were often in short supply  
There seemed enough to “make it by.”

An attitude of community seemed to prevail
Especially in times of great travail.
Being neighborly was common then
It reached beyond next of kin.

In this day of constant haste,
There is never a moment most have to “waste.”
Is “waste” really the appropriate word?
Does helping a neighbor seem so absurd?
  
It seems we have lost a needed trait.
We seem to have not a moment to wait.
If we, however, are ever despaired
Would we then wish that someone cared?

It is odd, somehow, that when the tables are turned,
We find ourselves wishing more compassion was learned.
That “learning” which then is so desired
Is often by many not acquired.