The Cost of Living

Eggs are $6 a carton

Gas is nearly $4 a gallon

Shit even the 2 for $20 at Applebees 

Is 2 for $25!

My job is doing layoffs

And they haven’t given raises for 2 years in a row

Trump is cutting grant funds for “DEI”

It’s all part of some shit called “Project 2025”

They putting tariffs on China

And bringing back segregation

They getting rid of women’s studies 

At colleges across the nation

The cost of living has gone up

Used to be

I aint have to do shit

But stay Black and die

But now… sitting idle 

Could cost me my life

Used to be

I could bite my tongue 

Fawn, people please

Now, staying quiet 

Costs a piece of my dignity

And I guess it always has

But it feels like the stakes are getting higher

Just like these prices

You ever hear your grandma say some shit like

“Back in my day, a bag of chips cost a nickel”?

You ever wonder 

The price she paid for being a nigga?

Like, you ever lived in the suburbs?

Or been to a PWI

Or hell, even just interacted with a white woman?

You ever had a white friend say nigga in front of you?

Did it make you feel small?

Did it make you feel unsafe?

Did it even register 

As trauma?

Did you even say anything?

Or let it slide?

I wonder what my ancestors felt

When they first integrated the schools

I wonder how many times 

They bit their tongue

How many fights they lost or won

How many battles they picked to save for another day

I wonder what holding back rage

Does to a mind

To a soul

I wonder if that’s what it means

To “live” while Black

Wonder what that costs?

Cuz you know

The price is going up