Broke

old pennies
gone as smiling like you got a wad
styrofoam cup crack in the dirt
yellow teeth
dirty fingernail scratch
a skipping album
and dull lighting
dull as the TV
infomercial tease
I feel like the ground
and the cold wind
hitting the open part of my V neck
can I borrow twenty bucks?
No he said
No
No
No
that’s what being
broke is cold hard
No’s
no cold hard cash
that’s a distant memory
no sand dollars rippling in this ocean
my mouth is empty
and it’s open wide
sugar box with ants in it
and sleep in my eyes
a cut on your palm from the cat
hold out your hand
and watch a drop
of nothing fall into it
how am I gonna pay for this?
I’ve paid for being broke
sickly skin
gravel
big fat piggie bank Bob
thinks you’re gonna rob him
shut curtains
daytime nights
nightmare days
rags and rips
broke
and needing a fix