cookie cutter poverty
A Poem by Rory Meyer
we think that america
is a first world country,
but we are folded and shaped
and forced into molds
that tell us it is normal
to work three jobs
just to pay your rent,
and it is normal to not
see your doctor when you are sick
because you'd rather have food
on the kitchen table than another bill
you could never afford,
and it is normal
to not even have a doctor
as an adult functioning in society
because why would you have
the time or money to see a doctor
when you are working three jobs
just to pay your rent
and you have to use a food pantry
to stock up on nutrients
to keep your belly full.
this country tells us
that we are flourishing,
we are the best nation
in the entire world,
and yet we have thousands
upon thousands of homeless people
living on the streets and in the woods
and in their cars or tents
or in a family member's basement
because society has more
important things to help with,
and society tells us
that those people are just lazy
and they did not contribute
to our ‘great’ country,
so, why should we help them now?
but did you know that these homeless
people have fought and worked
and tried their damnedest to fit in
to this cookie cutter mold called america,
some have served their country
in the military, some were teachers
or clergy or lawyers,
and some became sick or disabled
and they couldn't work anymore,
then they lost their jobs and their homes,
but this country said:
no, we will not help you
get back on your feet again,
you have failed to fit the mold,
you have failed to conform
to our society's standards.
and so they live on the streets
and in the woods and in their cars
or tents or a family member's basement,
and those are the lucky ones.
what you don't see are the ones who die,
the ones who starve,
the ones who freeze in the cold,
the ones who suffocate
from carbon monoxide inhalation
because their car was never meant
to be a home or a shelter.
you don't see the disabled
or the downtrodden
or the ones who are living
check to check to check,
just barely making ends meet.
people say that the rich are one percent
of our nation, but they are all we see,
and they are all we want to be.
don't they know that they too are
just a stroke of bad luck away
from where you and i
and the homeless man
on the corner stand?
this country says we are the best,
we tote our supremacy,
and we wave our flags,
but this is just cookie cutter poverty.
from the outside, we are molded.
perfectly? maybe for some.
but for most we are not.
no, we are cracking and crumbling
under the weight of a society
that is unsustainable.
we are dividing,
and that is how we fall.
Rory Meyer is an Illinois native writer. They earned their BA in writing from Carroll University. Their published and forthcoming works appear with Vine Leaves Press, Nat 1 Publishing, and Wingless Dreamer, among others. Rory enjoys tabletop roleplay games, building fantasy worlds, and bringing characters to life via watercolors.
