Cost of living

Ever since I was born
Everyones been complaining
how the cost of living
just keeps soaring;

Tea from Ceylon
Rice from Burma
Sugar from Jamaica
Meat from the Argentine
Yes, there's no denying
the cost of living
has been rising
ever since I was born.

Yet I haven't heard
a single complaint
since the day I arrived
how the price of human lives
has been taking a nose-dive:
in Hiroshima,
Stalin's Russia,
Hitler's Reich
in Vietnam,
Kampuchea,
Uganda,
South Africa,
Guatemala,
El Salvador...

Ever since I was born
the cost of living
has been getting rather steep.
The cost of a life
has never been cheaper.

by Cecil Rajendra