Corrupt Bargain (poem)

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Corrupt Bargain

I give you my shoe,
You give me your shoelace.

I will shine your lace
While you will scurry
Through the woods
And cake my shoe
With the carcasses of leaves
And splinters of woodchips.

I will hand you back your lace
Only to have you pass it off
To a lonely homeless man
Who will tie it to longer thread
And then wrap it ‘round his neck,
And tie it from a ceiling fan
In a homeless shelter on the outskirts of town,
Where he’ll kick out a wooden chair
From below his shoeless feet,
And he’ll lose the air keeping his heart upbeat.

He’ll pass on like the lace you gave,
And no one will arrive at his funeral,
No one will drop roses at his grave,
You’ll go on to become a leader
Of a town or a city or a state,
Does it matter?

I’ll go on to shine the invisible,
You’ll go on trading the unthinkable.