Charity, Cynicism, And Self Interest

The difference between the worthy poor
and the unworthy as they were in the England
since the founding of the welfare state
was rarely one of self-identification.

However poor and dependent anyone was
everybody identified themselves as worthy,
as compared with the unworthy poor
who were always somebody else who lived far away.

But there was a guide to the difference
between the worthy and the unworthy;
the worthy gave to these shops
thinking their gifts, however worn and used,
still had enough life left in them yet,
whether such life was there or not.

The unworthy would be the buyers
of this clothing, the ones with worn lives
looking for life in the goods they could afford
which they hoped would have just enough wear left in them.

To always be the last to buy those clothes
before they were fit only for the bin out was a duty;
how else were we to hide the poverty of our ambitions?