Monetary

7-24-16

do you whisper sweet nothings to your reflection

though you can’t quite meet your eye.

do you sigh your midnight loneliness across a keyboard

where it weighs the sadness into words,

lined up across a screen,

soldiers, or school children,

all in a row.

do you write your aching chest into love songs,

dress it up like you’re pinning blame,

in pastel idioms and watercolor metaphors.

do you borrow the longing of strangers,

because maybe the devil has never danced the waltz,

maybe we aren’t made of iron stardust,

maybe the world won't end in fire,

or in ice,

because humanity’s madness is not so easily translated-

cannot be subtitled by the tongue-

and it’s forever a vanity to try-

but, damn-

isn’t it pretty to think,

that this rawness could be framed,

valued in monetary worth,

sold to the highest bidder?