each counted piece
claimed scot free
beautiful designer name’s
boosted in a hunter’s craze
hustled hope for beggar’s pay
strictly spent audacity
dollars in hand
turns an eye the devils way
it adds up fast, cut the stack in half
traded for a getaway
let it ride another day
living in a higher space
the rent is steep, edge of a mountain peak
separates the sow and the reap
and every breath in between
intoxicated on possibility
the grit to devour and shine,
the essence I define
insatiably taking what’s mine
watching the bottom line,
wise to the final count,
a sum of all things
the take

Terry D’Arcy-Ryan