Divine Right

A paper Burger King Crown, 
Lunch with mom in the park,

She adjusts it over and over, 
But it never fits right upon your head.

Our mother taught us that if we were good,
God would bless us 
With health, wealth, and prosperity, 
But she did not know that by the time
We came of age, we had already run out. 

The old borrowed time and money from the young.

It did not start in the castle's highest tower.
There was no dragon. There will be no princess.

Even the peasants had a sabbath on which to rest,
But after all these years, what do we have now? 
Fifteen dollars for a kid's meal at Burger King. 
Fifteen hundred dollars for a room so far 
From the castle, we can no longer imagine it. 

This is collective bargaining. The third stage of grief. 
Our parents convinced themselves 
That wealth was a virtue. 
Prosperity theology. 
We convinced ourselves 
That I was okay to be a sinner. 

We changed the definition of right and wrong,
But we never stopped paying indulgences,
We never stopped meeting them in the middle
By admitting we were guilty in the confessional.

There was never a priest on the other side.

There can only be one monarch, 
But how many millionaires? 

We dropped our hamburger on the ground,
And the ants rushed to consume it.

A king sits upon his throne with a paper crown, 
He dares not leave because it is raining.
He paid his children, his sons and his daughters,
To hold the Sword of Damocles in their hands,
Knowing they loved him enough to never let go.

He did not mind the cuts on their palms until
He felt the first drop of blood roll down the blade.