Daphne Gottlieb reads promiscuously around San Francisco and is 1996 Queer Poetry Slam Champ, with honors in the SF Bay Guardian's Poetry 96. She can be reached at daphne@researchmag.com.








Making the Difference

Dear Friend:

Someone you've never met before has been
asking for you a lot recently. In fact,
she's been praying for you every night.
most of all, she wants to tell you a story.

a boy in el salvador, you have learned
to feign bravery. but this morning,
you live in dread of the virus
that has killed so many.
and you worry about the cut on
your arm that has lingered
for months on your arm, infected.

Friend, for 66 cents a day you can have
this story. that's half a pack of
marlboros. that's less than the can of
bud you're sucking on right now.
that's 66 cents a day
for a story like this:

You are four and you learn to steal
with your big brother, you also find
there are some things you can't steal in
Honduras. like whatever it takes
to make that little voice inside tell you
that, if nothing else, you
are worthy of a roof over your head, a full stomach
and a day of rest. you know that there are many
more things to steal in America, where they have
22 kinds of crest toothpaste and they have
medication for children who have
voices in their heads.

Friend, we are reaching out today
for the children and we are hoping that
you will reach back. Can you imagine the
relief that a first-world touch could bring to
a third-world child? Go ahead.
Touch them. We won't tell.
Finger the scabs. Fondle the thin arms.
her mom won't mind. She's too weakened from
the tuberculosis to notice, anyway.

Friend, these children have learned not to
cry. For dinner, they swallow the
lumps in their throats.

Children like a seven-year old in Ecuador,
who lives on scraps of garbage. Or stolen grain. Or rainwater
from the gutter. Or even sheer hope and courage.

These kids don't eat much. Think of what your $20 a month is
really buying. It's cheaper than the lawsuit from the neighbors when they
find out what you've been doing to their kids.
It's faster to sign a check than to serve the one to five for
stroking those seven to tens.

$240 a year is a bargain for those hard little workers who are
as good in the home as they are in the fields.
Think about it. Act today.
Yes! I'd like a girl or a boy from one of your fine regions.
Yes! from South America, from Asia, from Africa.
Please rush me a photograph and medical history.
Yes! I'll pay by credit card to guarantee that my gift arrives on time.
Yes! Send me one one to 5, six to eight, nine to eleven, twelve to fourteen.
Yes! Send mine priority shipping for guaranteed christmas delivery.

Friend, you can not begin to perceive the impact you will
have on these children's lives. Through you,
they'll feel and see things they've never known.
And they'll thank you for it.
We're sure. It's the only word we teach them
in English.


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