Karlton LasterMar 30, 20222 min readPriced Out By Karlton A. LasterWake up each mornin’And I can feel the tax of opening my eyes and breath in my body —Joints achin’, back pain, gray hairs, & high blood pressureThat’s a price worth paying though Because the dividends left behind outweigh the costs —A better generation emerging, community impacts, and a six-figure life insurance policyAll things that can make life better for those you love, or invested in.But, it’s the cost of society, some say the cost of living,That continues to price me outGas over $4 a gallon, chicken higher than a giraffe’s ass, and the rent is still too damn highOn top of that, “essentials” like cars and technology ain’t got computer chipsOur logistics have gone to shit and ain’t nobody got enough folks to make things or ship ‘emYet, I’m still unemployed, 8 months now and benefits dried up like a raisin in the sunChapter 13 is one piece of the puzzle, but attorney fees leavin’ me in a heap of rubbleCha-ching says my mindPsalms 34:19 is what I say to my wallet.They used to say COVID is to blame Or, now they say the inflation and war in UkraineAnd, tomorrow they will say the Earth itself due to climate changeBut, I know that there will always be a new boogeyman to distract usFrom the real problem – capitalism – and by extension ourselves & AmericaUs, America, and capitalism a Trinity, of sortsWholly interdependent and wholly parasitic at the same timeGorging itself on stuff and rising costs and pricesWhile decaying from the inside out.But, what I grieve the mostIs the sense of being priced out of a future —Priced out of marriage, homeownership, investments, retirement, happinessPriced out of a life worth living, or at least one to support my familyYet, each mornin’ I wake upPaying the toll of having two feet firmly planted on the groundHoping, praying that I can hit a lick and eventually win life’s lottery… or the Powerball would be nice too.
Wake up each mornin’And I can feel the tax of opening my eyes and breath in my body —Joints achin’, back pain, gray hairs, & high blood pressureThat’s a price worth paying though Because the dividends left behind outweigh the costs —A better generation emerging, community impacts, and a six-figure life insurance policyAll things that can make life better for those you love, or invested in.But, it’s the cost of society, some say the cost of living,That continues to price me outGas over $4 a gallon, chicken higher than a giraffe’s ass, and the rent is still too damn highOn top of that, “essentials” like cars and technology ain’t got computer chipsOur logistics have gone to shit and ain’t nobody got enough folks to make things or ship ‘emYet, I’m still unemployed, 8 months now and benefits dried up like a raisin in the sunChapter 13 is one piece of the puzzle, but attorney fees leavin’ me in a heap of rubbleCha-ching says my mindPsalms 34:19 is what I say to my wallet.They used to say COVID is to blame Or, now they say the inflation and war in UkraineAnd, tomorrow they will say the Earth itself due to climate changeBut, I know that there will always be a new boogeyman to distract usFrom the real problem – capitalism – and by extension ourselves & AmericaUs, America, and capitalism a Trinity, of sortsWholly interdependent and wholly parasitic at the same timeGorging itself on stuff and rising costs and pricesWhile decaying from the inside out.But, what I grieve the mostIs the sense of being priced out of a future —Priced out of marriage, homeownership, investments, retirement, happinessPriced out of a life worth living, or at least one to support my familyYet, each mornin’ I wake upPaying the toll of having two feet firmly planted on the groundHoping, praying that I can hit a lick and eventually win life’s lottery… or the Powerball would be nice too.
