watching

he said to us
that Chinese boy
"you pay taxes
then you die"
we all laughed
maybe at his accent
but also at his words

we've stopped laughing
not because of the money
we had to pay
on everything
our dues

but because we've spent
these months working
to save enough cash
to pay off our taxes
but they're not satisfied
they're coming for us
to burn down our crops
to rape our daughters
to steal our sons
to murder us dead

he was right.