It’s Reno, Nevada 2018
his landlord knocks
tells him there’ll be
a rent increase next month.
“How much?”
“500.”
“What? That’s almost 50%!”
“I know, I know...it’s Tesla
and all the Californians.”
“****...I don’t know if I can pay that....”
“Sorry about this.  
It’s just the Market, you know?”

At work the next morning,
as he’s putting on his hard hat,
strapping on his tool belt,
he tells two coworkers
the story, they shrug, say
“Yeah...it’s ******.  
But that’s the Market.
What can you do?”
“Doesn’t it just seem
like greed?” asks the man.
One chuckles, says
“Maybe.  But you’d do it
if you could.”

After a long day,
he needs to relax,
so he pays his
favorite ****** a visit.
She’s on her knees,
unzipping him, asks
“What’s the matter hon?
You seem tense...”
He tells her.
“It’s the Market.” she says.

As she begins
he thinks, “Jesus.
They all believe in it.
Maybe it’s true...
It’s like The Force in the
Star Wars movies...
and here I thought it was
people, taking advantage
of each other.  But then,
I’m not the brightest....”

She comes up for air,
says “Dude, you’re
not even hard.”
“Sorry.”
“This is taking too long.
Got another guy coming,
unless you got more money?”
“Gave you all I had.”
“Sorry...you’ll have to go.”
“The Market?”
She smiled.
“You know it baby.”

Driving home,
he consoles himself:
“At least jerking off
Is still free, for now.
But who knows?
This Market thing
seems to be everywhere,
like God.”