Behind a veil of pixels lies
A hundred million fancies for my eyes.
A googolplex of shiny things in every shade and shape—
New or used, i will find every option, every possibility
Of satisfaction (guaranteed), and at speed, at no added cost
Or inconvenience. It makes sense for the conscientious consumer
To shop around. Competition and comparison are my companions.
i need walk no aisle to find something special.
Red and green, Black, Brown, and Cyber,
i-deserve the very best. As for the rest—reviews
Reveal how shoppers feel about flukes and false advertising.
These are the days of honesty, and i know where my loyalty lies—
The generous cards and companies; my friends with benefits
Have my back. And should it finally crack or lose its luster,
i’ve one more saving grace to set me free,
The blessed bond of warranty.
I wait in line. It’s time I traded
Something whose excitement finally faded.
Receipt in hand, I turn it over, recalling how enthralling...
How I waited, and after the click, the ticking
Clock counted two days of expedited shipping.
I was a little careful, I confess, to do no damage lest
I void the contract and someday contact the seller in vain
When a better thing surpassed the last.
Holding that receipt in line, I felt and suddenly knew
The thing had never been mine—only loaned, or borrowed,
And for a short time. A little bit of anger warmed within me.
My thrifty cunning kept every option open,
But I owned nothing, not unlimited things, and that sudden knowledge stings.
Is my receipt another’s lasting claim on what I wish to have and hold?
For just one moment, caught between, I remained, and for the first time
Counted cost—all things lost, or one thing gained?
Another choice, another veil,
We make exchange, but on a human scale.
No safety nets or guarantees, I stand to lose more than is mine,
Risking more than I ever will, or ever have before.
In fact, this day, I give it all away. My worldly goods I thee endow.
Take them now.
—I take them, but they’re not enough.
Then take not only them, but me, I give without restraint, and free,
To have and hold, for richer or poorer.
—Give me not only you, and all,
But give me all your options left, and leave yourself devoid, bereft,
Forever without any other, and be set free, to fully have and cherish me;
And count yourself both rich and blessed today, for riches are what you can give away.
You wish you had more to give away for me, but looking through the veil you finally see—
Every soul retains the world potentially. Now, Love, place my finger in the band,
And don’t forget the feeling of this hand, which years will wear and tarnish until death.
But though my beauty dim and fade away, you’ll know from now until my dying day,
In every second ticking till the end, the joy of what it really means to spend.
