Medicare

I do not forgive Medicare
for its inadequacies.

I do not forgive the United States of America
for its broken promise.

Because

I remember when my parents
were young
and how they gave themselves freely.

And I also remember how once I did the same.

And now I curse Medicare,
I damn Medicare,
and the greedy men who dare to set themselves as managers
of all that my parents and others like them
have earned,

dribbling out merely enough medical care to avoid complete destruction,
but never enough.

The USA:
Land of never enough,
always just a little bit,
to postpone complaints,
but never enough to guarantee decency.