• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

  • Home
  • PORTFOLIO
  • Work Posts
  • Contact

An old poem on Development

7 December 2008 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

The Development Set
by Ross Coggins

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I’m off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I’ve had all my shots
I have traveller’s checks and pills for the trots!

The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.

In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.

We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.

We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution –
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.

The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like “epigenetic”
“Micro”, “macro”, and “logarithmetic”

It pleasures us to be esoteric –
It’s so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.

When the talk gets deep and you’re feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, “Is it really development?”

Or say, “That’s fine in practice, but don’t you see:
It doesn’t work out in theory!”
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.

Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.

Enough of these verses – on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.
.

Filed Under: Work Tagged With: aid, development

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Those little feet pitter-pattering about rule our lives lately. But on the occasional free moment I get to tap out scatterbrained bursts of consciousness about raising toddlers in Cambodia, traveling with them and working abroad. These posts are my personal updates to friends and family. But since you’re here, have a look around. Thanks for stopping by…

Read More…

Blog Post Categories

  • Interests
  • Life
  • Travels
  • Work

Latest posts

  • Cheers to 2024, an important election year!
  • Some optics on how rapidly technology is changing the world
  • AI note taking tools for your second brain
  • Kids project: Micro-loans to women entrepreneurs
  • I ran the 50th NYC Marathon!
  • Bok l’hong with Margaritas or, memories from the Mekong
  • Getting the kids to like ampalaya (bitter gourd)
  • Gender differences in athletic training

Tags

aid baby Bangkok bush Cambodia christmas coconut covid-19 cuisine delivery development expat expatriate Filipino food food foreign aid holiday hurricane inauguration katrina Khmer Khmer cuisine Khmer food Khmer New Year kids levy louisiana mango Manila medical tourism mekong new orleans nola nyc obama parenthood parenting Philippines Phnom Penh Poipet running Thailand travel US xmas
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in