For Shame, Gertrude

Inspired by Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country

For shame, Gertrude,
you left the beloved country
never to return,
staying to earn
a meager living
which only contributed
to your dying
and trouble rising
all around
this concrete ground
silencing the calls of home,
of familiar earth.
Now you forget your worth
selling your all
for two shillings or less –
an unrequited caress
for shame, Gertrude.
For shame!

~ by merylherr on July 14, 2009.