By Someone Who’s Tired of Paying to Belong
Clement Imsong
Some folks collect stamps.
Others, coins.
Me? I collect memberships.
Fees for the place I was born.
Fees for where I currently sleep.
Fees for where I once stopped for tea.
Fees for "who you are and where you're from"
There’s probably a committee charging me for simply breathing right now.
I’ve paid.
Paid to be from somewhere.
Paid to live somewhere.
Paid to have once visited somewhere.
At this point, I don’t pay donations.
I just pay rent for existing.
Talking about donations, the “donation” calendars.
I’ve collected enough calendars to time-travel back and forth.
I’ve already got 2026 and 2027 stacked,
I even have 2012 still intact.
As for lottery tickets?
I’ve contributed so much,
I should be entitled to win by sheer investment alone.
We may live in a land where income tax doesn’t apply.
but emotional tax?
Social subscription fees?
The Existential Fee?
That one compounds annually.
At this point, I’d rather just file with the IRS.
Here, “membership” is just a polite way of saying:
We will collect money from you until you no longer have an address.
Sometimes I wonder:
Would it be better to exist quietly.
Like a wild mushroom, free, unnoticed, and peacefully decomposing?
when I die, I will be a joyful mulch,
nourishing a tree with no paperwork.
they don’t need a membership form to accept your body.
Unlike elsewhere,
unless you belong somewhere,
you might just lie untouched in the open air.
Why can’t we gather just because we care?
Why must goodwill be so rare?
Why can’t we just gather because we want to,
not because some chairman summoned and we had to?
Why does every act of unity come with a cover charge?
When did “community” become a subscription model?
Community isn’t love when it comes with a bill.
So here's a pill of a bill for those sending receipts instead of goodwill:
"True bonds are built with hearts, not handouts"
unless you are happy being a member belonging everywhere but rooted nowhere.
Disclaimer: This poem is purely satirical and intended for entertainment purposes only. It is not meant to offend, target, or influence anyone. If it sounds personal, it’s purely coincidental—just like most of my lottery tickets.
