“The Price of Breathing” (Spoken Word Version)
They say this is the land of the free
but freedom’s got a subscription fee.
It’s drafted straight from your soul
and they still call it making a living.
when we’re working ourselves to death
just to afford to breathe?
They say, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.”
Can’t even afford the silence
to think about who you are.
they teach us our value is a barcode.
A number in a bank you’ll never see.
You’re not a name you’re a net worth.
You’re not a dream you’re a debt waiting to happen.
“If you’re poor, that’s your fault.”
Like this system wasn’t designed
while billionaires build rocket ships
then told us to keep running.
this is survival disguised as ambition.
They call it the American Dream,
but dreams don’t come with eviction notices.
Dreams don’t have interest rates.
Dreams don’t starve the working class
just to fatten the powerful.
in this broken, bought-up place.
In a mom counting change at midnight
but still tucking her kids in with hope.
In the tired man who hands a dollar
to someone hungrier than him.
who are both too broke to pretend
That’s where the truth lives.
in the cracks of a crumbling system,
where people still choose to care.
or our “declined” notifications.
We are not the product of capitalism’s cage.
proof that the human spirit
we’ll tear the price tags off our souls
It’s the courage to look this cruel machine in the eye
and keep your heart soft anyway.
kianamaiart
2087
izzy806
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
titsay
ellievsbear
