Pay Period

Crimson feelings about

Fading days yield

A forceful desire for a certain

Type of prosperity

That may only emerge in the mind

They are not the same feelings as

Endorsing a piece of paper with

A thoughtful pen—

They are not felt in the same

Place or manner

That is what this body yearns for:

The human condition never had

Any correlation with the deposit that

Is directly put into these sore hands

Because it is artificial.

I was not meant to be so stiff—

Is that not what differentiates me

From every piece of technology that

Was ever invented?

I chip off pieces of myself

In the name of a collaborative effort

To assist others who feel more important

Than I

Now, I have learned that I must protect

My mind more than I must

Commit to this commodity;

For each rise and fall of my chest

Proves to be the feeling I forget to

Cherish most.

By Eliana Wowak

Design by Valeria Camacho