IT’S A SCAM!

Words By Kamilah Valentín Díaz

I’ve never finished a game of monopoly / probably because the relationship between money and me is no joke / it makes me dig my nails into the palms of my hands / leaving prints behind like the imprints that press out all our cash / except I know that money doesn’t go into the hands of those who need it most / the concept of it is blasphemous / we can live in a world of abundance / and still manage to owe / I’m stressed when I have it / stressed when I don’t / didn’t grow up with a lot of it / and even though we’re better now / my mind is still of another mind on it / I graduated college now / and I’m not rolling in much of it / but I’ve got enough to indulge in a coffee every now and then / maybe if I spent less on oat milk iced brown sugar shaken espressos/ I’d be a billionaire by now/ like my math teacher once said.