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Multi-Media Youth Arts Contest
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
by John Cushma
Listen, my brothers and sisters, to the truth here being spoken:
The cycle of poverty in America must be broken.
Thirty-four million people in America are poor.
That's one in eleven families – too many to ignore.
Poor people have no access to the basic things they need.
No money to buy groceries for the family they must feed.
Affordable housing is impossible to procure.
They have no healthcare; no good jobs to secure.
Some children are too poor to receive an education –
A fact hard to believe in such a great nation.
But just being in school doesn't ease the poor's plight.
Parents are underemployed; finances are tight.
With no money for food, good nutrition is lacking.
Concentrating in school is hard; grades start slacking.
To help out financially, a job becomes a teen's goal.
So the first thing he does is to drop out of school.
Without an education, the teen's future is bleak.
His chance for a decent job is really quite weak.
The cycle of poverty has him sitting in its lap.
How will he ever get out of its trap?
Though "charity" may help him get a decent meal,
It's "justice" that has much bigger shoes to fill.
"Justice" will make the root cause of poverty end
So that one day, on himself he can depend.
To combat poverty, the Catholic community has a role.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development will lead us to our goal.
A nation's basic moral test is how the poorest fare.
Those with the greatest need, require the greatest care.
Impoverished people deserve dignity and respect.
The hungry, needy, and hopeless are those we must protect.
The poor must be enabled to contribute to the common good,
Becoming productive members within their neighborhood.
The root causes of poverty must be eradicated, for they ensnare
Generation after generation, to a cycle of despair.
The Church should stand beside the poor, and show them that we care,
Through acts that make a difference, financial help, and prayer.
Each Catholic has the power to help the less fortunate find the way
To a more self-sufficient life, starting today.
We can train adults for jobs that earn a living wage,
And make quality schools available for children of any age.
We must establish programs that truly have the power
To help people achieve the self-sufficiency they desire.
We need to promote solidarity between those of success,
And those trapped in poverty, who have so much less.
We should donate our time and talents to do something good
That will help improve the quality of a low-income neighborhood.
We must respect a job's value; raise a worker's self-esteem.
We can mentor needy people as they strive to build their dream.
We can sponsor the education of an impoverished child.
Helping the next generation will start breaking the cycle now!
Poverty can be stopped, if we do what's here been spoken.
Let's all work together. Let's get the cycle broken!
Copyright © 2003, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc.,
Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.
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