images glare on screens,
and peer at us from the covers
of glossy magazines,


the faces of those with
abundance and comfort
wearing woolens and silks,


draped in finery,
laughing and chatting
in gatherings at cocktail parties,


holding wine glasses by their stems,
with pinkies raised perhaps,
eating canapés and laughing,


while outside in the street
and around the corner
Jesus sits on the sidewalk


in army clothes, hungry, jobless,
homeless, huddled in mirrored doorways
that span the globe


wondering what has happened
to the meaning of his birthday…