You can rail against the notion
That any human should deserve
Anything good—
And indeed, many in their religion
Do just that.
It is quite the fashion, actually!
But I should like to point out
Two observations for your apt consideration.
The first is that you of good heart
Think it is good and fair and proper
To pay the worker his just wages,
And that you actually take joy in doing so.
And the second is that God himself
Talks repeatedly of giving rewards
To those who have worked for him in righteous labor.
That good-hearted people and God
All agree on this ethic
In the natural course of human affairs
Makes it all the more interesting
That so many among us take such
The unapologetic stance against
Humans deserving anything good.
Had we got it wrong when we were
Paying the plumber?
And did God get it wrong, too?
And so I’d like to suggest that
Perhaps it’s one of those axioms,
However firmly established and dear,
That’s due for some revision.
