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ChendaWrites: Pity the Wealthy

“Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.”

-Khalil Gibran, “Pity the Nation” Poem

ChendaWrites: Pity the Wealthy

Pity the Wealthy

*

I pity the wealthy

who pity me

they see my rags and think

my soul, just as bare

*

while hoarding gold

with wide-eye glare

they see, not me, but thee

*

a shine, like fool’s

as clear and empty

as Echo’s reflection

in mirrored sand

*

(after Khalil Gibran and Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

Pity the Wealthy © 2025 Chenda Duong

Note: I write this poem in a time of great political, social, and economic upheaval, as an expression of my dissent and protest against rising tyranny, oligarchy, and authoritarianism in America.

Inequality.org: “Oligarchy Has Arrived in America. Will We Confront It?” (2025).