In the world of finance, where transactions reign, There lurks a darkness, a specter of pain, CBDCs, the coins of the future they say, But with them comes a price we cannot pay. A digital currency, no cash to hold, No tangible asset, just bits in a code, Controlled by the government, surveilled by the state, Privacy lost, a dystopian fate. The promise of efficiency, the lure of speed, But what of the cost, the sacrifice we need, Our autonomy gone, our freedom sold, A bleak future, a story foretold. No longer can we hide, no longer can we flee, The watchful eye of the state, always on me, A dark gloomy world, no privacy in sight, CBDCs have come, a never-ending night. So be warned, my friends, of what is to come, The march of progress, a beating drum, CBDCs may seem like a gift from above, But they carry with them a cost, a price we cannot love.