I only caught a glimpse of that

$200 book you’re overly infatuated with,

Why not just recommend it?

The lunch money I used for your

Insensitive demands still

Didn’t get me an A in your class,

So why should I silence my questions?

I feel you’re not comprehending.

You think that

Single bed room apartment

That isn’t even equipped with

The basic necessities

For me to even call it ‘home’

Can satisfy your unnecessary requests?

Not to mention

The house parties acting as fundraisers,

The 2 days 2-hour shifts

That can only buy a month worth of ramen,

The embarrassment of

Preparing yesterday’s clothes

For today’s challenges,

And a shopping habit

That can’t be maintained.

I don’t even have a printer that can

Even feed my thoughts without ink,

Yet,

You still demand I compensate

For your loyalty to the system.

How funny.

Let me remind you that

My bank account is set to

Authorized User for a reason.

Please understand that

The only thing you can guarantee me is

A binder full of bank statements

And a pocket full of lint.

It’s bad enough that I have

These people saying ‘I can’t do this’

But my pockets too?

It’s said that knowledge is power,

But it’s a debt I can’t afford to pay on time.

My account says,

Pending.

You mean to tell me that

Tuition wasn’t enough?

A ‘next-door’ college

That offered reciprocity

AND a full scholarship and

Still,

Still it bounced my check

And paid me back

With a late fee.

It didn’t last no more than

A semester’s worth of work.

My tab is already paid for

Only because the drunk on the left

Just wanted one dance.

I guess I’ll take another round,

But a tip won’t be left.

It’s times like those

I’m reminded of the agony

You purposefully enforced

On my strained budget.

Shouldn’t my deposit for this bill

Be enough for a starter position?

Is a refund too much to ask?

I’ve played by your rules.

I’ve invested in this knowledge you say is power

But my receipts are forever overflowing.

Let’s compromise.

I’ll pay your outstanding balance

But don’t expect a ‘paid-in-full’

Notification in your inbox.

I’m still a college student,

A broke college student,

Just trying to make ends meet.