Coursing Down My Spine Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

I feel the sweat
Going down my spine.
I wonder what it is
That makes me sweat.

Bills keep piling
I am used to them.
They arrive daily,
And my happiness
Disappears slowly.
For I have tied it
To the belt of money.
When it goes up,
I am happy, but
When it goes down,
I feel naked even
At the back, where
The labors of my
Life lay.

Hence this sweat,
That wets my back
At its center,
Telling me I was
Born to work and
Sweat even when I
Am sitting on this
Machine and popping
Words on to the screen,
Like popcorn in its maker,
Making sounds that
Make me drool for
I am an animal of
Another kind.
Having been raised
where heat and cold
mix and mix In Africa South.

I am going into
Tomorrow with
One resolution,
To laugh when I
Get a bill and
Make sure it
Is paid on time,
For Satan comes
And whispers that
It will be better
To wait and pay it
Later only to find
It gets bigger.

This sweat I wipe
With this new promise,
Never to lengthen
What time wants to
Shorten, such as the
Days between receiving
A bill and paying it.

For they say if you
Learn to pay the piper,
He plays harder for you.
Meaning, even in heaven
They will record how
Late I was in paying
Bills and if I ever
Paid at all. Sweat or
No sweat, I came to tell
The truth about everything
That bothers the mind
Of this so called human.

If my bills turn into
Billions and these do
Not help, I will curse
Language for making
These two words to be related.
For I have promised
To call my self a
Billionaire meaning
one who has more and more
Bills in the coming
Year. Wait for the
First day, and learn
From time what prophecy
Is all about, folks.