All Paid Up

[couchgrouch]

All Paid UpJudy's husband left her with a five grand gambling debtshe knew she'd better have something when gangsters came to collectstood in line at Compass Bank with a crumpled welfare checkfor two hundred bucksthe twinkie teller asked Judy how she wanted itshe said make it tens n twenties but make it quickfortune won't let me slide so I'll hafta be slickto outlive someone's else's luckthe moon shone on black feathers along her chain link fencemidnight brought a pounding to her trailer doora legbreaker said I don't know where your husband wentbut you've got a long way to go before you'reall paid upJudy got a few hundred from her mama down in Dela Croixhad a yard sale and sold her husband's X-Box and Best Buy toyssold a stack of Cosmo's to a peachfuzz neighbor boybut came up short three hundred bucksshe passed the Pole-Cat one night...turned around and went inbarkeep said she'd make a bundle grinding for businessmentassle dancers make 'em think they're 25 againlike hairplugs n tummy tuckssome dancers' lips looked like swollen bee-stingswith futures paper thin as Pabst Blue Ribbon labelsJudy quit after a week with hundreds in her g-stringpaid under the table for dancing on the tablesand she was all paid upJudy took three c-notes to the bank and asked for changesaid what she wanted and the teller looked at her kinda strangeput thirty rolls of quarters in some knee-high panty hosewhen that guy came-a-callin' she swung and broke his noseshe said "life had turned out hard but now my luck has turnedkeep that money and now as far as I'm concernedI'm all paid up"(c)2006 Robert George