Poem for Money III: Light Fuse and Get Away

---

 

 
 
Oh no not again
They haven’t healed as quickly as I’d hoped
I can’t wear long sleeves it’s 101 degrees
In order to boost seratonin levels
You need a job
Which also releases gas-pedal chemicals into the brain such as
Vending machine coffee
 
See what I mean?  Before
I could even finish the stanza
I had to spend my last $200
Rent or food, on a lost catfight
Maybe it wasn’t lost, I mean
How much were the other cat’s bills?
Never mind
Hey, wait, listen:
How is it possible for me to worry about
Personal debt and global nuclear war since
Only one of the two can happen?
 
This summer is an economic roller coaster
Lose two jobs get one.  Well
Roller coasters go up and down
I guess it’s an economic subway
Which starts and stops and lurches
And makes me sick
 
I’m not depressed, I’m-
Well, okay, maybe I’m depressed
 
But
 
I’m still employable
 
Right?
 
July 1st, 1998
 
$1000
 
Ha, ha, just kidding
 
But seriously, $.59 or so, anyhow
 
What made me think I could afford to own cats?
Or teeth?  Or feet?  Or a stomach?
 
I mean, look at it this way
 
If you do not pay this amount by July 1st
Your coverage will be cancelled
 
When it is rephrased in these terms
Certain deeper meanings surface
 
Staying in bed all day, every day
Makes certain things possible
How long would it take, for example, to read
All my books in alphabetic order?
 
At the rate I buy them, this was
Once impossible
 
Sorry, bought, but now
 
And my father said, remember this
If you are going to amass real wealth
You have to become a stock market investor
 
I guess that makes this a novel
According to one of the only two things
Most people remember about Bakhtin
 
Polyglossia and using old manuscripts
To roll tobacco
When he couldn’t afford paper. But he also
Had an idea.  But me
 
In the sport of basketball
The importance of scoring points
Cannot be underestimated
 
So you see what I’m up against
 
No, really, why do I have such a hard time
Critiquing capitalism on an empty stomach
 
THIN: Ribs easily palpable with minimal fat covering;
Lumbar vertebrae obvious; obvious
Waist behind ribs; minimal abdominal fat.
 
Print “you have $cash bucks ”;
 
Anyhow, this is not that
I lost as many as four friends in one week
And may cause health problems
Never mind, on the positive side, I’m
Writing this at least
 
Yeah, well
The position for which you applied
Has been filled by an internal applicant
Who
We feel will best meet our needs
 
Best wishes for future success
 
Thank you for helping to make affirmative action work

 

---

1998