Cheap

Cheap is a touchy subject but
other words are more positive,
like thrifty or economical.

When I was a kid, cheap
was from China (no longer
the case, of course) .

Cheap is poor quality, or
a behavior some disdain,
and some appauld.

My grandpa carried
discount gasoline and day-old bread
in the trunk of his car.

That was cheap! But he
would put a deserving stranger
through college.

That was not cheap!
Sometimes seemingly
cheap people are,

like gramps--
mixed bags. Others
are always stingy,

not able to give
to (or of) themselves.

Some places charge
more than a dollar
for a cup of tea,

yet a cup of hot H2O
is often free.
Is it cheap or

thrifty to carry
one's own teabays
around for that free

cup of hot H2O?
How about taking
those mini shampoo

and lotion bottles
from a hotel?
Hey, that cheap,

you say, but suppose
you give them to
the homeless?

Well, that's different.
Certain ethic groups
are thought to be cheap

but if you dare say
to someone that they
are cheap because

of who they are
you'll be thrown
out in the street.