Just an hour from you can count so much

From the comfort of your swivel chair…
You can bring your labor’s fruits in touch…
Of a famished child, and heal despair!
Just an hour from you can count so much!
What to you seems a tiny amount…
Does not to the needy seem as such!
Timely aid’s worth is beyond account!
Just an hour from you can count so much!
One pencil’s gift can be hope’s anchor…
For an adrift child to eagerly clutch!
A child’s thrill to learn, your gift will spur!
Just an hour from you can count so much!
A child led by the hand towards learning…
Never again needs charity’s crutch!
Will you lend a hand with an hour’s earning?
Just an hour from you can count so much!
-Arvind Iyer (19th July 2011)
Graduate Student
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Southern California