This Morning I Saw

This morning i saw the street sweeper,
sweeping the rubbish,
along the busy road,
as i passed by in my car,
with the air conditioning on,
the windows up,
the radio playing,
as i drove on to work,
in a comfortable office,
at a desk.

This morning i saw the scrap collector,
lugging her haul on the back of her bicycle,
on the way to the scrap-yard,
to try to scrape together a few ringgit,
to feed her family,
as i ate my breakfast,
in a nice restaurant,
where i was taxed,
for the service.

This morning i saw the town gardener,
tending to the bushes,
which line our roads,
and beautify our town,
as i finished my snack,
and wanted to throw away the wrapper,
by simply littering,
but had second thoughts,
and looked around for a rubbish bin instead.

This morning i saw the night guard,
grumpy and tired,
staring listlessly,
finishing his shift,
as i set about my day,
fresh from a good night's sleep.

This morning i was conflicted,
as to what was wrong with our world,
where we are taught to love,
to be kind and giving,
why is no one kind to these people,
who are just like you and me,
but for their place in society,
do we shun,
base on smarts and capability,
which are pretty moot,
if not used for a cause greater than ourselves.

The rich can afford to worry about the trivial,
which is just what it is- trivial.
if what one thinks about defines one,
then trivial are those who mind the trivial.
the less privileged go about their business,
day to day.
what would they do should their places trade for a spell,
and i wonder too about me.