Thank You Very Much
Once my friend’s mom made me a lunch
Never had I ever felt so very touched
Simple gestures go such a long way
Especially when it’s by such surprise
Smiling and carrying it proud
For a minute I was rich inside
Fresh strawberries meant not living
On a free sawdust school lunch that day
A rich boy in our grade, he once said:
“All the screwed up, dumbass kids…
they live off the government—
free food cause’ their guardian is
addicted to all kinds of drugs.”
I took a bite of my nutritional lacking pizza
It tasted of nothing but $4.25 worth of shame
I’m somewhat smart and get average grades
It’s not my fault mom’s tired and society’s warped
I watched my friend as shook her head right along
As I sat there, experiencing some messed up thoughts
But, my fist to his face couldn’t make him see straight
Some use government money to their advantage, but not me
Sure, there’s the wealthy, poor, and the middle class
You’d never know, my matriarchal family falls far below the line
And you see, her family made me feel better than I am
Than I thought I could ever be— thank you, leading industry.
I changed myself cause my wallet is not deep enough
And I want to know what it is like to host Christmas parties
Her room and closet are the good kind of never-ending
I’m lucky I own a laptop and pair of clean leggings
As I worked in school, I grew quite bitter
Especially when my mom cried out, “You have more money than me”
Money buys you the things you think you need, but usually don’t
Also friends, because you can finally afford going to the movies
Envy in my brain snapped on my sweet, old friend
And there’s no yellow speed-bumps where I have to live
Instead occasional gunshots and cops all the time
With fear as I race to my car, leaving house at night
And her home will never be my house
But when I was there, I really did feel at home
She has family dinners; they talk and laugh
My mom throws me a dollar as I ask, “Fast-food?”
And my mom and dad love me and treat me pretty well
But it’s nothing like two parents under one roof
Four siblings that really understand one another
Like heaven, no slammed doors or violent shouting
The one football game I went to sophomore year— we lost
Mom would never drive me cause it wasted all her gas
Nor let me leave our house with the snug shorts I owned
And I have to know, at what cost did “missing-out” sell for?
A million stairs doesn’t make you any happier
But a stable job and paid bills can go a long way
It can stop the nagging and put new sneaks on your feet
I realize with extra money there isn’t as much yelling
No sum of money could fix the government or my corrupted mind
I never meant to burden other families with discomfort or harm
I’m better than I was, but financially, I am broker than ever
And I would just like to thank her mom for the lunch and love.