“Hanging on for Fear Life 2” © Edward Michael Supranowicz

 

Lost in Trickle-Down Economics

The spit-shone Oxford hovers above me
like a leaf on a branch of the money tree,

its wooden sole glinting down to my eye.
I spy, wedged in one of its shallow treads

a dust-crusted dime with its bevelled edge
worn down to burnished coppery contours.

Dislodged from its bed of grit, the change
sits mute in my palm yearning to be spent

on a little luxury, else stashed safely away
under a muddled lump of stained mattress.

Proffering my new riches to the salesman,
I’m informed that my money is no good:

“What you’ve got there is a peso, hombre.
You’ll have better luck over in Monterrey.”

 

Spencer Keene (he/him) is a writer from Vancouver, BC. An oxygen addict since birth, Spencer’s work is informed by his extensive experience as a terrestrial mammal. Most of his writing remains unwritten.

Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is A Jar, The Phoenix, and The Harvard Advocate. Edward is also a published poet who has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times.