[Marlo]
What a nice group of students
who mingle like well made soup.
Each independent,
confident, curious, strong,
wanting to belong,
but true to each’s sole view
that plots each path to renew
the diversity
of healthy flavors combined
in harmonious
fusion which blends unique tastes
into nuanced dividends
from orchestrated
sensations, a symphony
with delicacies.
Even though they volunteered,
Robert steered through this peer group
shaking every hand;
standing briefly to expand
on his gratefulness
for their vital assistance
to enhance the fellowship
of societal
chores that cannot be ignored
for everyone’s health.
So each received envelopes
with enthusiastic praise.
[Jason]
Hey Thompson . . . money?
[Omar]
Why are you, two, whispering?
Why is that funny?
[Jason]
You must be kidding!
Volunteers don’t get paid.
I thought a free meal was the deal.
Did we, all, get paid?
[Omar]
That is not unusual
for this crew is congenial.
All except a few
accrue wages while some
like Yolanda and
Diane expand their holdings
kept in Stewardship accounts
that mount up over
time to be mined as needed
by our at large
community. ‘Twas their choice
to clench reciprocity
as the best bench mark
that the individual
is vital support
to thwart the group’s obstacles
as the group swoops to defend
individuals
to upend hurtles along
their long happy life.
[Yolanda]
We get paid each day
that we work well to support
the community
when the work force is quite short
of those who can carry out
plans branded as needs
decreed by communities
like these that we please.
Diane shine a light upon
stewards and poverty’s fight.
[Diane]
Of us who carry
Joe’s Honor Coin, many joined
stewardship to chip
away at economic
principles that are caustic
toward looking forward
for a better rule to school
citizens to fend
off poverty with a trend
to suspend ownership with
private stewardship
equipped with understanding
that liberalism
and conservatism aren’t
contrary realities.
They’re feeble labels
unable to find balance
in problem solving
angling to accommodate
diverse nuances of fate
that dictates human
ethics for action to merge
these dialectics.
There are four banners
evenly placed, not scattered,
so that all perceive
all three coins with front and back,
stacked with lines, arrows
and choice words that we follow
to remind all, here, to find
honesty within
consistency that seeks for
sound relevancy
forging strong integrity.
But, much more importantly,
is to concretely
apply results tangibly
in each and all lives.
Stewards choose aspirations
for acquisitions
that promote equal
distribution of products
and all services
to survive well and then thrive.
I got a note that denotes
my contribution
to our group’s promotion
toward a better life.
[Andrew]
What a bunch of utopian fantasy !
Our world is not a place of peace and tranquility.
To survive you must compete and not be discrete
when face to face with foe who shows his teeth
to eat you alive so he can thrive.
Diane, you speak this nonsense
so often in class that I admire your brass
to stand unimpaired by the strong force
of the social elite and endowed athlete
that scare all nerdish oddballs
that fall into despair when defeated
by mainstream prowess unable to climb socially
in line with capitalism’s profitable individual.
A word to the wise
don’t comprise a philosophy
that weakens your chance to survive
elegantly.
[Diane]
You wanted to come and see
my words in reality
being carried out
explicitly without my
editorial
selectivity to mask
the commonality lived
by others who give
their best to collectively
work to acquire
a higher morality
than to what you aspire.
The invitation,
you requested, was not for
an explanation
but to grant observation.
Observe quietly. Don’t speak.
[Marlo]
Diane’s unrestrained
retort framed her strong disdain
for insolent speech
and, as such, punctuated
the end of any debate
she sued as too rude
to be calmly permitted
to trash her friends’ task
to assist their honest pleas
to squeeze illumination
in recessed corners
for the extermination
of opaque, dark spots
of one’s misinformation
dissolved to resolve errors.
Time and place matters.
Diane, as a high honors,
public school senior
in his graduating class
has clashed many times before
to score victories
and tough defeats with Andrew
and his loyal crew.
This clearly was not the place
nor the time to be entwined
in a running feud
when teaching students to air
their unshared beliefs.