Golden Nuggets

I waited with pleading speckled eyes and needy fingers
to unwrap each section
waiting for a piece of departmental gold to shine through.
The gold produced by every departmental store in this US of A
It sparkled in our pupils
as we breathed heavily
feeling for it to fulfill our every dream.
And each December 25 I waited
I hit that floor with anxious toes
But when I ripped opened that delicate paper
It wasn't there.
The gold wasn't there.
Speckles of translucent brilliance escaped me
while I was left with cotton and threads.
And I was like, momma, I have to be like everyone else, it is everything I ever wanted.
I wanted to be like them all, needed the same things, needed the gold flecks of acceptance.
I hit that floor and when my feet hit the pavement I swear I had the world on my trachea.
It was the worst day of my life.

And then the new gold arrived in each department
tainting us all and developing a frenzy of need.
Empty pockets, abandoned wallets
Each of us plead for more gold
More speckles, more brilliance beaming from our feet, our bodies, our rooms and our backpacks.
We are what we wear, we wear what we are.
Each taste of the sweet gold nectar only forces us into a thirst
for more gold buildings, gold cars, gold nails.
Gold nuggets are more savored than those with mouths.
I am as good as the gold I am stuntin'
My shrine of gold tells me who to surround myself with
and who to value.
This shrine is meant to get noticed and gives me power
Sunny shades and fresh chrome
This is what makes me me.
This is what our world has told me to be.