a service on a plate, with

dressing on the side. yesterday it was caustic,

today quite mellow. the smile only

comes when there is splashes of silver

at the other end;

tit for tat, numbers are crunched the moment

a pen whiffs out – like smoke appearing,

taking form; today is a fantastic day

when silver becomes gold. spring is in the air,

with peacocks spreading their haughty tails,

the goods are packed with certified

third party checkers. items are added accordingly.

everyone can take a slice,

just make sure the payment goes through

when a credit card is terminated,

the items become

a lawsuit. already consumed, a bad check,

a frown, a sigh – does not

buy pardon. a transaction, surely

it does not get easier than a, b, c

when the crooked man straightens up to grin,

a wallet empty, tried to explain away

why. a court order still demands payment.

a tug of wall, an upsell, a bad service,

a tainted product.

now the mailbox is full, with letters of every

kind, some spam, mostly coming from

the sheriff’s office.

smiles have most definitely stopped now,

when it is quite apparent

the man has gone broke!

suddenly the comforting words fade,

an inside out – and inside is not pretty.

a venom of untold wrath,

each smile was daggers kept inside

the chest. burst open.

spilled secrets, blood, comforting words

become accusations.

i had to

for the money.

whose a friend now?

transactional relationships, the cracks

show when surface is scrubbed.

like a slot machine, the wheels keep turning

as long as the coins drop in, pay a visit

to

did you bring the cash?

no one’s about, when the belt is tight,

they are all about, when the money

flows like wine.

inebriated yet? a dance, a hop, a tap tap

with the cane. the slot machine

is all about random strikes. take a hit.

it feels more akin to the truth,

you know – how things actually work.

hey – if i were a rich man, i’ll say this too: work hard,

save. no free lunch.

is that how the rich got rich?

and it becomes quite obvious – not always,

maybe that is why politics is something often

tossed under the rug,

it’s ugly once the cat is let out of the bag.

so everyone these days rather talk about the weather,

it’s safe, it’s polite, it allows for relationships

without depth. depth is sorely missing these days.

it’s like this pressure valve, more and more steam built up,

till the smiles finally stop.

it’s pointless. it’s silly. i ask how you are,

you ask how i am. we both do not mean it.

why bother?

the truly important things goes to what we do each day,

the smiles, the handing over of cash,

all this — transaction —

because

it’s a fair exchange.

and the soul seeks – finding vacant

vacant. restless.

gets cheap hostels that never

give heat, give what a soul actually needs.

fake products, this world works

unlike the other one. curls up like a fetal,

impoverished.

spirits meet spirits –

and they cut beneath flesh,

cut the surface, into the heart.

a soul weighed –

the misjudged devil gives his 2 cent’s worth,

misjudged since

flesh has been following him faithfully all this time.

maybe flesh too is misjudged,

but the philosophers have all stopped

debating too since

they – too were being scrutinized.

the silence was eternity,

and a fair exchange no longer applied

when slot machines, gold and silver

no longer existed.

what now?

how now?

a tapping of the feet,

eternity is too long: such impatience!

a soul tries to think of some fine

arguments as to why.

why indeed. the real reason. and that’s the heart.

it says everything. it’s you.

and of course now it sees quite clearly

why, how, when, what

with flesh no longer around

to play.