Lovers on Payroll

By Shubhangi Anuragi

Is this what it's like 

to be penny-pinching 

for your whims

and fancies

for your self-serving acts

and fantasies

to ask

for the body sans the soul

to never afford love fully 

how was

such a narrative sold

and whose goal

does this meet?

making half-assed promises

that you'll never uphold 

whoever told you 

molded you

into a narc-y asshole 

miss or mister

truth be told

this is not being 

a lover

because no love

is this cold

this is cowardice 

wrapped in

actions 

excessive and bold

full of fooling 

self and other

in its ends and 

folds

this generation 

of penny-pinching 

assholes

you make love so

cheap 

with your bargains

and trolls

'oh time is running'

but you won't run out 

I swear 

by all the world's gold

but

you're fuelling the wrong engine 

if you think

you're not seeking

a little bit of love 

on the roll

you sleeping fool

wake up

you're wasting your coal

make up your mind

about this role

with what little you know 

and the lot you seek

because yes, you work day and night

to subsist, you might

but for art, you live

and for love

you would die

don't

lie.

don't confuse it

with your daily chores

and desk-bound lores

admit it now

it was never for sale

you would know

only

If you opened your eyes more

you will see

it hasn't to do with

merely being payroll

and that is your truth

simple and whole.

By Shubhangi Anuragi