An Apology
Children starving,
Prices go up.
Hopeless fathers sell kidneys to the black market
Just to buy
some bread
So their kids will grow up
Not that it really helps anyways
Children assume their fathers’ positions
The cycle continues.
They throw themselves in front of moving cars
To reap the benefits their
faulty government promises
To cripples.
But the medical bills are still
too great
Not enough money to pay for them
Children are starving
Prices go up.
Fathers die
Mothers cry
Children are starving
Prices go up.
The wealthy sit idly by
Eating ice cream flaked with gold from Italian glasses
Getting
fatter
by
the second
As if the fat the poor are losing
Is being transferred to them.
Children are starving
Prices go up.
The wealthy don’t care
The poor are dying
Their sickly voices too easily
Drowned out
By the deafening cries of
all the unfortunate souls
Whose parents won’t let them have their way
Who aren’t allowed to go out with their friends
Who can’t buy a fourth car.
Oh, woe is you,
Silk scarves and
Expensive caviar
I’m sorry you are so deprived.
Fathers die
Mothers cry
Children are starving
Prices.
Go.
Up.
This is a really strong poem and I like how you used enjambment to emphasize your message. I was really surprised to learn that children actually throw themselves in front of cars to get crippled benefits. Is there a specific place in the world where this is occurring right now?
ReplyDeleteI really like your use of repetition to emphasize things. I think my favorite line is "Prices go up" because it almost emphasizes the hard climb.
ReplyDeleteI really like your use of the line "prices go up" the repetition makes it really powerful. I think this is going to be an incredibly emotional and evoking performance!
ReplyDeleteRight off the bat, I really like the irony you have when you write "all the unfortunate souls, whose parents won't let them have their way...." It emphasizes how privilege can really limit our perspective. Because of this, I feel that those collections of line really show how those in poverty are also deprived of their voices.
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