#Pennies For Dollars
by Michael Romani

There is something off
Hollow and desperate 
In the context collapse
That keeps the music separate

From the artistic soul
And given to the corporate behemoths
Who steal the control
While trading pennies for dollars

It is a brutal series of humiliations
That keeps the takers taking
From those who do the creating 
While there's money to be making

All the close costs paid
In becoming a cultural product
Doesn't cost half as much 
As the costs to the soul they deduct

In write offs to cultural clash
Played off as a shout out for reparations
As the disrespect moves into a verbal dash
Leading our society to its circumvention

All the sad sinners are crying
While our children are busily dying
In this urban ecosystem of exploitation
There isn't much room for interpretation

The real artist only sells who he is
But that's not the way of the music biz
It's a competitive world lived ruthlessly
While faking the way of authenticity

(c) March 24, 2018  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved