Authored: July 26, 2013

I opened my wallet and saw ash where my money used to be
The Ash dusted my fingers, covered me in blackness
This was the sign of greed, which trumped morality
I saw the homeless in the street look at people walk past them pleading for food.

I saw the hungry look longingly at the rich business suits eat lavishly
I saw the single mother who went without food to feed her malnourished children
And all around me I saw helplessness
I saw those who had, walk past the hungry with no compassion
I saw the sneers on some who cussed under their breathe
"Get a job, you waste,"
But how can one get a job if one has nothing to begin with?

I opened my wallet and saw red blood where my money used to be
Dark red blood, crimson and warm
This was the sign of disillusionment
I saw the man with a gun wait in a corner of an alley
Awaiting a man or woman to come past alone
And he threatened them and took their money and fled
He stops in front of a fast-food outlet and takes money out and buys his first real meal.

His hunger was more pressing than his morality
He gulps down the foot barely chewing and as a police officer sees him
He turns with the gun and the officer shoots him 3 times in the chest.

I opened my wallet and saw a lone $5 dollar note.
All I had left
Not fit for much of a meal.
I ask for some change and people scoff or don't answer
One man sneers and goes "Fuck you, you leach"
And his words cut me down for I have hit hard times
All I want to do is get home and see my family
This man pushes me hard, and my head hits the wall
I feel blood flow from the wound and the man walks briskly away
Uncaring.

I opened my wallet and saw greed, enmity, spite and pain
We want to be rich and yet we don't understand money isn't what makes us happy
It's far from that.
Money is big business. Money is a lie. A much-needed lie
We are in a sick-cycle carousel.

I opened my wallet and found it full of blood....