The Cost Of It All (Poetry)

She craved designer dresses
he dreamed of a flash car
their budget felt the stresses
it could not stretch that far

He worked to earn more money
she watered down the wine
bread curled for lack of honey
in bed by five to nine

They skimped on candlepower
and pawned the Queen Anne chairs
they sat on orange boxes
intensified their prayers

Their savings mounted slowly
though interest rates were mean
then came the great recession
the worst the world had seen

Some millionaires were ruined
when fickle markets dived
the mighty fell like ninepins
have-nothings they survived

The couple sensed it coming
withdrew their nest egg fast
hid it well and reasoned
all this would someday pass

The bankrupt-rich came knocking
like beggars at the door
they knew now in their hunger
the curse of being poor

She pitied once-fine ladies
and bartered for their clothes
gowns with famous labels
their price tags heaven knows

She traded food for diamonds
dressed like a queen she stood
before her antique mirror
well-framed in glass and wood

But pleasure failed to fill her
no such achievement thrilled
as she’d expected it to do
instead delight was killed

It was not her — this fiction
a stranger to her eyes
a figure grown ridiculous
in poorly-fit disguise

So stripped of borrowed finery
she favoured good and plain
discovering it suited her
so there it did remain

Meanwhile her man was driving round
in wheels that cost the earth
he’d swopped them for his bicycle
a thousandth of its worth

He’d cruised the highways in a trance
top speed outran his wits
too fast he cornered — lost control
upturned in some deep ditch

Trapped snug in leather luxury
no one to see his plight
he found a hammer — smashed the screen
and crawled into the night

Three days it took him to walk home
he begged from door to door
grateful for each crust folk gave
but touched by kindness more

At last he reached their grey stone house
his long-dead father built
and saw its strong and simple walls
allowed his heart feel guilt

For thinking there were finer things
so she and he agreed
both of them had got it wrong —
they had all they would need

Expensive cars and fancy clothes
had no attraction now
by sharing modest hopes and dreams
life seemed more rich somehow

Financial crisis over and
prosperity reborn
while she and he were well-content —
she sewed ... he mowed their lawn