Poetry

Everything Costs

by Crystal Cartier

It costs to be born
It even costs to die
Coming in or Going out
So many things to buy
From the shipping & handling charges of our remains
to paying the mortgage on our final resting place
Giving so much of ourselves to others
takes a lot out of caring Sistas & Brothers
By the time we take that final breath
We've already been thru Hell & back
Time to take a serious break
Sick & tired of heartache
But while I'm here it costs to live
Until I have no more to give
It costs for water
It even costs for trash
As soon as they figure out how to charge for clean air
breathing will cost us serious cash
It costs so much for a decent place to lay my head
It costs too much for a family to be properly fed
So we stuff ourselves on cheaper spicy fillers
full of growth hormones & other cancerous chemical killers
Even expensive so-called fresh produce
full of chemical pesticides
irrigated with sewage water
take consumers for a ride
No longer tasting like the real thing
Nothing anymore is what it seems
But it costs to look too close
Non-Conformers always roast
Like moths drawn to the danger of an open flame
We sacrifice acceptance & at the bottom sign our names
But it costs too much to be apathetic
So many souls lost for reasons so pathetic
Killing ourselves to be the Boss
But higher up means higher costs
Trying to survive in a world where everything is For Sale
has got to be a sample of what awaits in Hell
But I've found an Insurance policy that benevolently guarantees
Eternal Life & always enuf [enough] to pay the costs to meet my needs
All glory, praises & honor to The Creator that is my Boss
That fills my heart with Joy that makes it worth the costs.

 

© 7/6/02
Editor's note: Ms. Cartier has given this publisher carte blanche
permission to publish any of her poems.