How well I remember 'growing up poor',
it did not mean what many might think,
it never meant a total lack of money.
It meant being kept busy,
'keeping the wolf from the door'
to the point where we dare not ask
whether the wolf was actual debt,
or the fear of debt,
the fear of delay
in paying the bills
until the red letter bill
dropped through the letterbox;
that was the bill of shame,
and proof of profligacy
beyond endurance.
Many a time we cut corners
to contain our costs, knowing
that what made the present bearable
would cost us dearer in the end.
With every economy we made
we knew that we were denying
our future selves their choices.
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