by Rochelle Ratner
And so, as she entered sixth grade, she became aware of
exactly what money could buy. A dollar a day doesn't sound
like much, but it was more than her allowance. She became
adept at finding money between the sofa cushions and the
cushions in the back seat of her mother's car, she was quick
to spot coins left on dressers, sometimes pocketing part of a
tip at the coffee shop. Then some creep squealed to his
mother and the teacher was found out. The other kids
didn't mind much, for them the fun was in cutting and
getting away with it, and most of them didn't cut every day
the way she did.
Rochelle Ratner's books include two novels: Bobby's Girl (Coffee House Press, 1986) and The Lion's Share (Coffee House Press, 1991) and sixteen poetry books, including House and Home (Marsh Hawk Press, 2003) and Beggars at the Wall (Ikon, October 2005). More information and links to her writing on the Internet can be found on her homepage: www.rochelleratner.com.