Capitalist Poem #57
Like a sailor practicing knots in the darkness,
like a warrior sharpening his blade in the lull of battle,
like a blind man searching out the figure of a sleeping lover
the mind searches and eddies
through the concourse of the terminal
with its way stations and concessions
of bottled water sandwiches,
dot.com billboards trumpeting instant riches,
another gourmet coffee at the cappuccino bar,
grande decaf half-skim latte,
seeking to delimit its appetites and hungers,
as even Money magazine wonders
how much is enough?
like one returned home after years of hard travel
I call out in greeting to my familiars—
Avarice, trusted and faithful retainer,
Extravagance, mi compeñaro,
Greed, my old friend, my bodyguard, my brother.
by Campbell McGrath
from Nouns & Verbs
Harper Collins, 2019