Money Poem by Dhriti Chakraborty

There was a time when men bartered goods,
This for that, that for those.
Then the coin appeared,
To make things easier.
Today there is an ocean of banknotes in our minds,
Cascades of paper, waves of bills;
It is a wonder we can think at all.
My, what a world we live in,
Ruled by men with their heads in noisy fish-tanks;
It is a wonder that anyone can see past themselves.

I pray for a better world,
Where we are not constantly counting ourselves,
Counting others,
Where there is a move from muted, wrinkled and soggy ideals,
To those of love and compassion.
Our thirst for gold will never be quenched,
Maybe we could feed our souls instead.
I fear if we don’t trade our misery for truth,
We may very well end up drowning in it.