Poet in a Shade of Jade
I am so jealous of how poor you are
of how you are poor
your particular stilo pobre
The way you put no cash and
no money together is uncanny
This aesthetic
lack of change combined
with lack of dollars
is very difficult to duplicate
and I hate you for that
I was gonna go hear you read
from your new collection of
unpaid bills
just the other day
but you get readings
all the time
you have your pick
of not being paid
or being unpaid
You get to ride
the subway back and forth
on your own dime
and you pay for
your performance alcohol
I’ll make it one of these days
give you dirty looks
as you read and rake in
your air bucks
What I look forward to most
is not tolerating
how you hoard your poverty
tell no one your secret
you must have some malefactor
mentor
mentiroso
who further mystifies
the acquisition of wealth
and points you in the direction
of the dead end
–Sheila Maldonado
Poetry