(j - Baba Amte - 1994) Work Builds But Charity Destroys Poem by Kannan G

He built his monumental work
On the rocks of his pithy philosophy:
‘Work Builds; Charity Destroys.’
Whenever the tempest of time blows across
He feels no loss –
His work stands unaffected;
Self-reliance he has perfected.
To those poor palms
Fated to seek alms
A few tools he gave,
Their spirits to save,
And they carved out
The beauty of self-dignity
From what was first their self-pity,
Their disability,
Their poverty,
Their agony!
In the desert of leprosy
He sowed seeds of sympathy,
Seeds of empathy,
And grew the garden of ability,
Of energy,
Of prosperity.
He knew that charity
Could feed the hungry.
But he also knew that it could
Also inflict injury.
But work could make one worthy,
Could make one really happy.
He gave no charity;
He gave opportunity;
He decried self-pity;
He admired dignity.