after the Credit River near Toronto, Canada
If credit were a river
it would flow from a source
in a reflecting pool
where you could look
and see yourself
fit, trim, and smiling
pictured
with the product
of your choice,
what you most
want to own
at that moment
If credit were a river
the water would be
perfectly clear,
warm as a bath,
and the bottom would look
smooth
as a swimming pool
If credit were a river
no sharks
would be seen,
it would be
well-stocked
with fish that look
like very attractive
mermaids
and mermen
(but are actually
robot mannequins)
beckoning
invitingly
to you
to come in
just for a dip,
a little swim
If credit were a river
as you wind past
its banks
on your pleasure boat
you would need to look
very close
to see
that all the plants
are plastic
in the lovely well-manicured
landscape
dotted with stores stocking everything
you could possibly want
each featuring
a very special one time only SALE!
with easy terms
If credit were a river
it would be staffed
by strong, slender, sexy, smiling
life guards
of both genders
always ready to help
If credit were a river
it wouldn’t be
until way down stream
the water turned
icy cold
in white water rapids
where the padded contours
are no longer applied
to the jagged rocks
that now
can cut you
and what’s behind
the false-front movie-set
at the beginning of the river
is only exposed
right before
you get
to the falls
great and treacherous
as Niagara
where the boulders below
are littered
with battered broken lives
drowned in credit,
valued less
than what they thought
to own
If credit
were a river
Kirk Lumpkin is the author of two books of poems, Co-Hearing and In Deep. He is the founder of the poetry-music band, The Word-Music Continuum, that last year released its second CD, Sound Poems. He works for the Ecology Center as the Special Events & Promotions Coordinator of the Berkeley Farmers’ Market. For more info: www.KirkLumpkin.com.
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