Poor Shel got it right

I read this poem by Shel Silverstein to my son last night:

Poor Angus

Oh what do you do, Poor Angus,
When hunger makes you cry?
"I fix myself an omelet, sir,
Of fluffy clouds and sky."

Oh what do you wear, Poor Angus,
When the winds blow down the hills?
"I sew myself a warm cloak, sir,
Of hope and daffodils."

Oh who do you love, Poor Angus,
When Catherine's left the moor?
"Ah, then, sir, then's the only time
I feel I'm really poor."

I was struck, literally in the heart, by what it really means to be hopeless. Not when the bills are due and the money isn't there. Not when the pressure from financial insecurity is so tight around your neck you may suffocate at any moment. No, none of that is at the core of who we are. It's the ones we love who are important. Poor Angus knows it. Shel did, too. I was reminded and gave my son and extra goodnite kiss.