The Lottery

How many times am I forced to stand in line
at the corner bodega cashier
as the lottery drawing grows near?
Poor people with a dollar and a dream
seem to congregate as they feign
for the lifestyle that holds them down.
The masses can’t hide their frown
as they pump their gas
and ponder on their winning ticket….their fix!
A scratch-ticket junkie without money for a better car,
just enough for a pack of cigarettes.
You see, the lottery is just another tax on the poor.
A dollar and a dream simply turns into three or four.
And the privileged class doesn’t need to look
toward a brighter day.
Only a higher tax bracket when they bring home more.
So let’s allow the poor to pay for the poor….
Dangle trinkets in front of the week
and see who falls hypnotized to the floor.

“All of this new capital has the potential
to build our state a new school.”

Well you go explain that to the elderly woman
whose dreams haven’t come true.