You pay up front.
You pay on the spot.
You pay on demand.
You pay that which is yours
and yours alone to give,
paying as you go.
Sometimes there is all hell to pay,
so you pay close attention,
keeping your eyes open,
listening with both ears.
You loosen the purse strings,
you open the purse,
and you shell out --
a pound of flesh here,
a pound of flesh there;
now an arm and a leg,
now through the nose--
paying whatever the asking price.
If the fiddler asks,
you pay the fiddler;
if the piper asks,
you pay the piper.
You pay each and every debt
presented to you for payment.
You pay up, you pay in,
you pay out, you pay over,
you lay your money down.
You pay and you pay.
You pay until you’re among
the forgotten at the bottom,
until you’re among
the wretched of the earth,
until property-less,
homeless,
and penniless,
having come through,
having come across,
having lost everything there is to lose,
at last
what you see
is what you get.
Then, and only then,
do you have what you've paid for.
And it's priceless.
Botsford, Alan. mamaist: learning a new language. Kamakura, Japan, Minato No Hito, 2002.
