I REMEMBER WHEN

I REMEMBER WHEN

Remember when five cents
would buy a candy bar
and fourteen more than that
would put gas in the car?

Twenty dollars bought food
to last you for a week,
about the same would heat
the month, at winters peak.

Three dollars was the cost-
of a Doctors office call,
no need for a Drugstore,
the Doctor had it all.

Now five cents is used to
complete an ending price,
like nine and ninety five,
because ten wouldn’t sound nice.

A twenty will buy you
about three pounds of meat
and if you are lucky—
maybe a week of heat.

No way you should get sick,
unless you have money
‘cause you’ll have such a bill,
it just won’t be funny.

In my time on this earth,
life’s cost up more than ten.
Pensions not near enough--
but I remember when.

3/9/07

Monty


6 syllable ABCB scheme