Paying for News

Personal Reflection 1 Minute

Place a coin in the fortune teller’s hand

so that you may part the mists of tomorrow

(we can all imagine even if we’ve never been).

Behind some cloth -the “made in Bangladesh” label

not obvious in the drapery, and the dim interior

carefully accentuated by glowing orbs

or flickering candles (LED of course – OH&S –

the ignominy of modern magic).

The woman sits, her face obscured by frayed ropes

of greasy hair and heavily made-up wrinkles

(or are they real?) and her eyes glint

blacker than obsidian. Her lips almost disappear

into her toothless visage. Whatever she tells you,

with her rolling tongue and smoky voice,

she already has your money. “You will die tomorrow”

The coin is safe. Her future is secured.

Not so elsewhere. They take your blood

keep your cat overnight, dig bits from your body

and come back later with the verdict

and the bill. “Your cat is dead, scientifically speaking.

Now pay us $5000 for our failure to please”

Nobody wants to pay for bad news –

magic or scientific; before or after.

What happened to service guarantees?

Published by abigfatcanofworms

We all walk in the dark. But if we hold hands, perhaps the dark won't be as scary.

Published

8 thoughts on “Paying for News”

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