state of the union

it was barely drizzling outside.
i had a hat and sweatshirt on.
my mom covered us both with an umbrella.
we got in the car and cranked the heat up
until we arrived at the restaurant.
the room was fashionably dim-lit.
we all talked about the earthquake in haiti.
we talked about how horrible it was as if
proving our compassion to each other.
"quarter of a million dead there" my dad said.
he popped another fry in his mouth.
our twenty-dollar dinners were prepared
to perfection.
my grandfather held my grandmother's
trenchcoat to help her put it on.
after i got home i turned on a hard rock song.
my mom walked into the room.
"what?! what is this?! no!" she exclaimed
as if in great distress. she held her fleece
bathrobe tight over her pajamas. i turned it off.
we watched the daily show and laughed at
the democratic party's bungling mistakes.
the men in suits. i sit on leather couches.
the television is turned to channel 148.
my laptop came with a backlit keyboard.
i don't know anything.
or maybe i know enough but i'm just being a
tight-fisted, over-privileged american.
don't tell me that i'm just as over-privileged
as anyone else. that does not lessen my fault.
how much do i have to give to be a good person?
why is my wallet still full of cash?