Some friends of mine moved to the Seattle suburbs about 15 years ago. When I went to visit them a few years back, they were talking about their passport cards, and they were very surprised that not only did I not have one (though I have a regular passport), but that I’d never heard of them.
As they live within an easy drive of the Vancouver area (less than two hours), I imagine it’s a convenient thing for them to have, and regularly use, for their day trips by car to Canada, but driving into Canada (or Mexico) isn’t something that I’ve ever done.
I’ve been told this many times, but I have taken our kid to UK and Canada (two and my wife has taken her to China and Korea many times without ever being asked for any evidence of such consent. We’ve always had the necessary letter (signed and notarized) but never had to show it.
In the case of the actual poem, a man is thinking about his hired hand who needs help but had abandoned him earlier. Yet he could go to a wealthy brother, but for some reason is ashamed to ask for help.
The line is always taken out of context, but is actually a bitter statement about humanity. Home folks don’t have to take you in and often don’t or won’t be asked, and this is just one of the zillion reasons why. Out of context it implies the opposite of what it means.
It is, but it’s nice to have a full passport in the event that you want/need to leave the country on short notice. When I renewed mine this year, I opted for both the passport and the card. I’d never had the card before, but I figure it might be nice in case we visit Canada or Mexico soon, as it’s a better form factor and fits in your wallet with your other cards.