High Cost of Living

I am stunned,

by the mismatch between our effort and our earnings.

Writing takes time, energy, attention, and brainpower.

It requires engagement to build a community—

and in return, we earn pennies!

Not even $10 in a month.

Meanwhile, the cost of a single pizza dinner is $40.

How can anyone feel comfortable?

I think of my schoolteachers in rural India.

They had stable salaries, ancestral homes,

and no rent to worry about.

They kept tenants for extra income,

had agricultural fields to grow paddy and potatoes.

They rode bicycles to school— no fuel costs.

Food was homemade by the wife,

and had brood of kids for fulfilling life.

And here we are highly-educated immigrants,

balancing reduced earnings with full-time parenting.

Women are breaking under pressure

and even pregnancies are getting riskier due to stress.

Some are forgoing marriage and choosing not to have kids—

terrified by the high cost of living.

Our bills are huge, and savings are meager.

It’s not a nice change, in fact scary!

I wonder, how long will it continue?