give and take

i was at the bus station
downtown
waiting for my
ride to see
my family
up north.
a guy comes up to me,
looks me over,
says,
"hey, man. you looking?"
i say, "yeah, maybe. how much?"
"thirty bucks," he says.
i look him over. "for how much?"
"an eight," he replies.
"damn, i've only got ten bucks.
can i get a dime?"
"i'll take it," he says.
"for the whole bag?!" i ask.
"yeah."
we shake and make the trade.

earlier that day, i thought it would be fun
to copy a ten dollar bill on the copy machine
and cut out the center so when it
was folded up
it looked like ten bucks, but
when it was opened it said
something clever.

i gave the guy the folded ten
and got onto the bus.
in a few minutes, the bus
was leaving the terminal.

i went into the bathroom
and unrolled the baggy
and looked inside.
there was some green lint
wadded up to look
like something else.

"the motherfucker got me,"
i said. "but i'd kill to
see the look
on his face
when he unrolls
that ten
and it says
fuck you
in the center
where old Hamilton
should be."