In the Dream of Money by Henry Israeli

"All prayers start and end with money."

In the Dream of Money
by Henry Israeli

there is no window
that has not been filled
with cold hard bills
stacked up like bricks
to block out the sun.
In the dream of money
a woman gives birth
to a baby that cries
and cries until filled
with spoonful after
spoonful of coins.
In the dream of money
someone says, capitalism
is in our blood, and,
indeed the ground below
us is stained with money.
In the dream of money
money falls from clouds
but burns to ash before
hands lifted skyward
in prayer can reach them.
In the dream of money
all prayers start and end
with money, and the newly
converted fall to the floor
and writhe until they’re
covered in a blanket
of stitched together bills.
In the dream of money
we’re told that everyone’s
a winner before our
shirts are stuffed with
cash, our pants stuffed
with money, all of us hoisted
up like scarecrows in a field
of scarecrows, all of us
lifted onto our own posts,
coming apart in the wind.

★ First published in ONLY POEMS ★