Things were better
when things were better
but these days
with tightened belts
and thinner rations
it is harder and harder
to take it easy
especially for one like me.

I am the poor
I am the disenfranchised.
I am the hungry.
I had hubris,
but can no longer afford it.
I am the ninety nine cents.

I had hope until recently,
expectations of resuscitation
or revelation
or realization
that this was how it had to be.
I had dreams
until I found then too costly.

I am the ilk
I am the unhealthy
I am the uninsured.
I am the insecure.
I am the left hand
an easy mark.
I am the ninety nine cents.

It didn’t used to be this way
or any one way.
There used to be options.
There used to be solutions
that seemed so much less final.
There used to be more.
Now, there is me
and you
and them.

And I am the ninety nine cents
and they are the enemy
and you?
I don’t know what you are.
Do you?