"THE KEEPER!"

 

Let us remember that Capital is a fictitious animal;

Whether the household pet, or the wild and savage beast,

Much depends on its Keeper!

One man in Commerce exchanged goods;

For a touch, a stroke of Capital,

Although it could not be seen.

There was implied a trust; that all will be well!

Produce and give of your time, talent and creation

And you too can harness Capital, to tempt those

Who hoard that which you seek.

 

Would the Forester give you his wood?

For nought is his need!

The canopy of his dwelling, the fruit of his table,

The dew in his drinking cup satisfy him,

From the resource of his habitat.

Yet, even he has heard of Capital!

He may imagine the sounds of the nocturnal night;

As the fluttering wisp of presence passes in the brush.

He chooses not to stalk the beast, but from afar

He is content to know there is a Keeper,

Whose control extends even to his abode.

 

The Fisherman from the shore of spawning seas,

Dries his fish before the somnolent sun.

His tradition a sixteen hour day of watery wakefulness.

He knows there is an ocean beast which robs him of his catch!

Perhaps a relative of Capital?

This is an unchained foe who commands respect.

He is glad that Capital is harnessed,

And that he may take some measure of retort

Against his loss of productivity,

By obtaining more from his venture with Commerce.

He does not realize that it is Capital's Keeper

Who has robbed the ocean of his life's sustenance!

 

The Farmer looks out across his field of glistening gold;

It is his child, as much as Mother Earth's!

He secured and prepared the seed to plant

In plots of crumbling dried clay and silted soil;

His time spent to tend and weed the nurtured acre,

Warmed or washed by wind swept sun; moistureless,

Except for days of clouded cataclysmic rain,

Poured out with vengeance, or as a sprinkling of insufficient dew.

He sees the footfalls in the folds of swishing stalks;

Commerce has come to tell of futures,

And of Capital's employment and exchequer.

The Farmer also shows gratitude for the Keeper;

Who willingly gives guarantees of minimal returns

For hours spent in dedication to his husbandry!