I Can’t Stay Much Longer, Melinda

can’t win for losing

By Harper Lewis Published 3 months ago • Updated 3 months ago • 1 min read

Drowning in debt,

no relief yet.

Going on 18 months

Sole breadwinner only

winning crumbs from

my employer

who doesn’t value me enough

to offer even their

shitty insurance or a single hour

of paid time off, giving me

the Cumberland blues

in North Carolina.

I’d quit if I could afford to.

Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing!

Intrusive rhyme bothers me, except as a weapon.

Intertextuality is my passion.

Formalist/ New Critical are my guiding theories.

My words are mine, not a robot’s.

MA English literature, CofC

Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed. You could also become a paid subscriber, letting them know you appreciate their work.