Profit

Photo by Becky Johnson

He can be the most egotistical

and ambitious one at the table,

discarding the community-minded

and the connectional,

quickly dismissing the philanthropic

and the pastoral.

   If we make the mistake

   of electing him CEO,

   the board will soon be filled

   with the seedier members

   of his neighborhood:

   Ruthlessness, Greed, Deception.

   Once these four begin

   to block-vote, there is

   but one who can

   turn the rudder:

   his renegade cousin

   and homophone, Prophet.

Speaking truth to Profit's power,

this radical one weaves

an image of the future

in which creation's abundance

overcomes scarcity,

community trumps difference,

and hope assuages fear.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins