Without
the key required
to unlock privileged doors,
a child can knock till knuckles bleed,
can pound, petition, supplicate and plead,
then drop to knees upon the floor,
but still remain the one
who has to do
without.
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Author Notes
a rictameter is a poem of nine lines that has a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2. The first and final lines must consist of the same two syllable word. This is the fourth of a series of rictameters that begin and end with prepositions.
Privileged is given here the two syllable pronunciation of priv/lidged, which is found in several reputable dictionaries.
Yes, the U.S. is the land of opportunity where people can realize the American dream and rise from poverty to prosperity, and this is true of other developed countries also. However, the key is still required, and that key is often extremely difficult to obtain. If a child is malnourished, if he lives in a home without books, if he does not have access to pre-school programs and decent public schools, if his parents are working double shifts and don't have the time or resources to help him with homework, those keys are mighty hard to obtain.
And even for the strongest, the most determined, the luckiest, there are often years of deprivation before living without fades into memory. We may not live in a society where all poor children are doomed forever, but neither are we a society that spares many little ones from years of scarring deprivation.
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