Poem: Borrowing

I borrowed twenty bucks from you;
Last week I bought you gas.
But I'm not keeping tallies of
Transactions from the past.

It's not that I want you to be
In debt for what I gave,
Or that I think your own largesse
Makes me your bonded slave.

The flow of wealth from hand to hand
Is not a zero sum;
The river irrigates the fields
Fidelity grows from.

I bare my throat before your jaws
As you bare yours to me,
And every time we do not strike
The trust is plain to see.

It is not greed or pity
That moves me to take or lend,
It's just my way of saying
I will always be your friend.