The Gates are Open

A tribute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;
Seattle’s Long-Awaited Facelift

The Gates are Open
A tribute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Gates are wide open to the plight of the poor,
to children too hungry to hope.
The Gates are not closed to the victims of A.I.D.S.
and because they are not such can cope.

Open Gates reveal windows of mercy
never shuttered or draped to real need.
And a glance at the Gates strong foundations
calls attention to love’s greatest deed…

Generosity fueled by compassion.
Wealth that matches the gifts it inspires.
Wealth that knows it can heal human heartache.
Generosity bred by desire.

Seattle’s Long-Awaited Facelift
The historic Alaskan Way viaduct is a memory

A new wrinkle’s appeared
on the face of our town.
To some, though, it’s more like a scar.
Can surgery fix it
reconstructing what’s wrong
for those stuck in traffic in cars?

The skyline is different.
The viaduct’s gone.
That two-level highway’s no more.
A facelift (some call it)
on one who’s grown old
leaves rubble resembling a war.

But when she’s recovered
(her countenance healed)
the pain will at last seem worthwhile.
Seattle’s demeanor
will blush with young pride
as she boasts a new three-mile smile.