Piece by Piece

Here we are in the failing nation
where we are too proud to pay rent
and not upper-middle enough to pay our way.
So we mortgage our lives
piece by insignificant piece:
a car, a purse, clothing, and jewelry,
a two hundred dollar wallet
with not enough cash carried inside
to purchase movie tickets, a tank of gas,
a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread.
Hope comes in rumors of a tax refund
to purchase instead of paying down
maxed out credit cards or
the principal of your mortgage.
Do what they tell you—
it’s good for the economy.
Short sell your house or they’ll foreclose.
You can always file for bankruptcy
and have a shot at it all over again
in ten years time your coveted credit
will bounce back like the market.
At least that’s what they tell us.