by Bill Costley
In Silicon Valley's Cupertino,
a dutiful grandson eagerly awaits
an annual U.S. Savings Bond
from his indulgent grandfather,
a manufacturer in Shanghai
who shuffles yuans, reading
his falling quarterly orders
report on the United States.
This year his indulgence
will bear the 2-tongued-E
of a Eurobond instead.
Facing the Chinese in Beijing,
Paulson involuntarily shudders
at a hint of chill across the table.
Something’s morphing. Paper’s
no longer just promissory scrip.
Bill Costley serves on the Steering Committee of the San Francisco Bay area chapter of the National Writers Union.
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