The absence of evidence cannot be proven by a lack of what you have

your pride, a summary of all of the glory you can grab

it is weakness to hold onto love that can fit into a bag

the evidence of absence is apparent in the act

sentiment, kindness, present minded-ness, another slot a knife can stab


If you must insist upon these gilded tokens and hurled ideals like spears from Babel on

to fuel a spirit long since gone from a body faded to ash beneath snow, whose presence lingers in nervously grubbing fingers

then that only goes to show, your idol, image crafted by Coca Cola, whose Saint was Nicked and imprisoned for defending Christianity in the years 303 - 313

or do you not care for history, a lecture from a lantern lit lectern and how drab that all can be?


Puff out your chest on your past of hunger and hardship

these softer beds you sleep on now, rest assuredly

they are a bitter bite of mellow comfort compared to a fat lip

from the childhood Purple Heart you awarded yourself for poverty

if only the truth was not that the pain is what you must throw over your shoulder and carry

but how easily anybody can be right there too, in the mindset, broke and likely desperate to help their family

the real strength one gains from their life of having next to nothing is an appreciation for charity; an understanding for willing generosity.