Money, Is it real

Is it real, this paper we chase,

These numbers glowing on a screen

A promise whispered by a state, 

A shared delusion we convene?

It buys the bread, the roof, the light, 

Commands the hours of a life,

Yet vanishes in crisis night,

Or multiplies through endless strife.

No gold in vaults for every note,

No silver backing every claim--

Just faith that others will still vote

To treat these symbols just the same


We trade our time, our skill, our year

For digits that can disappear,

While forests fall and rivers dry

To keep the ledger crystal clear.

So is it real? Perhaps as real

As any story we invent--

A useful ghost we all feel,

Until the moment we relent.