HAVING

How can I boast,
being among the haves
when there are have-nots?

How can I take comfort
when the have-nots have none?

In the simple pleasures of life
I ache, knowing I am no better than any have-not.
I am no more deserving,
no more qualified.

But rather are they,
more deserving and more befitting.
For their shame is not covered;
yet, they endure.

With pain they stand.
Having not a have,
not a simple have that I have.
But in guilt, I have.