October/November 2004

First published in Bare Bone #5
Available at ProjectPulp.com

PRE-ORDER Bare Bone #6

Supplemental
Income
by Holly Day

 

It didn’t take long for me to discover
That the Tooth Fairy would leave
Just as much money for someone else’s teeth
As she would for my own. Some years later

I found that leaving dead mice
Under my pillow also brought
Monetary compensation, and the cat
Things I found in the rain gutter on the way home
From school, and college, and work
All proved to be invaluable sources of income.

And boy, did I feel like a big sucker for the Man
When I found the equivalent to a week’s pay
Shoved under the mattress in place
Of the friendly boy next door, smothered
In his sleep – all those years of busting my hump

When all I had to do was
Find some more teeth.