money

when i was a child, i saved
my five-dollars-a-week
to see what
$100
looked like.
at the time i thought
it was all the money in
the world, those crumpled
bills, nearly war-torn
from tours in my pockets.

my father lost his job, and i never
saw his shoulders slouch like that.
i pushed my money
in his hand and he said,
honey, this wouldn't feed us for a week.