Dollar Signs That Steal Light | Poem

 

DOLLAR SIGNS THAT STEAL LIGHT

Wearing marks
of savage grab,
money needs
a wisdom guide.
The cash flow
in an urban river
backing up
like septic tanks.
A scarecrow
in a field of corn.
It can be molecules
of good, cold
compressed
on ravaged eyes.

Green leprechauns
of dollar signs
that steal light
from poverty.
The chase of greed
can own the world
and be a dirty pilgrimage.
You always
understood so well
the clash between
a luxury and hunger’s
much more
crucial thirst.
“Money honey,”
you used to say,
“makes candle wax
and hornets’ nests,
but summer’s light
and syrup from
a budding rose
will end up
fraught with impotence.”
 

- Janet I . Buck
 

to Janet       to Moongate

---