we’ve been here before, 

the richer using their millions to inject youth into their veins– –  

while the poor man dies.

it’s simple, really– – 

we don’t have to complicate it. 

every manifested amalgamation of visceral

flesh and blood and cartilage that eventually becomes a 

body and a person and a life– – 

has a price.

a calculated equation placing you within a hierarchy depending on 

how much you cost or, 

magic happened in the world today. 

kris jenner got a new face. 

“70 turned 25,” they say. 

she beat the odds, 

paid enough to become immortal– – 

while the poor man dies. 

today, a plastic surgeon got paid, more money than i can

stomach, 

to turn a millionaire’s face into a porcelain doll, 

while USAID gets cut 

while thousands are burned under the rubble 

–- there’s not enough medics left alive–-

while I stand in the Walgreens pharmacy line.

while I stand in the Walgreens pharmacy line, 

five community elders get denied necessary and 

time-sensitive medication due to a new change in 

their insurance coverage.

you should have heard their screams– – 

what does death sound like?

how about greed?

dehumanization? 

loss?

magic happened in the world today, 

while my mom pulled out another

loan towards my sister’s special treatments for her autoimmune 

disease. 

a stage IV cancer patient vlogs a detailed account of 

how difficult it is to get her chemo appointments each 

week.

a young adult gets forced off their parents’ insurance at 

25 years old, 

and her SSRI’s are no longer covered under her 

new income-driven plan that she can barely 

afford. 

to them, the poor don’t get sick. 

or maybe, to them, they always were. 

they don’t care.

“it’s $3,093.46 per monthly dose, without insurance”

cash 

out-of-pocket

the rich get richer. the poor man dies. 

at least we can live forever now. 

at least some magic happened. 

at least 

at least