Like Water - Mona Mehas

Money runs through my fingers like water.

My check arrives in the bank

refreshing, quenching my thirst

cooling my hands

droplets form on my fingertips

and it’s gone.

Bills go unpaid while I look for more

books to purchase

concerts to attend

some may not see this as a problem 

or understand my challenge

money consumes my life.

When I can’t spend freely 

on what I want 

when my account runs overdraft

a knot develops in my stomach

guilt overcomes my brain

I tell no one.

Eagle flies; the sun shines again

I’ll pay my bills, get caught up

then a glint catches my eye

something shiny

a poet reads her work

I must buy her book.

Storms don’t pass until the rain

covers me head to toe 

my hands try to wring water

from my clothes and hair

but nothing works. Water 

runs through my fingers like money.

Originally published by Low Life Lit Mag, 2025

Mona Mehas (she/her) is a retired disabled teacher in Indiana USA. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize (Paddler Press 2023, TV-63 Project, 2025) and Best New Poet (Lucky Jefferson 2024). Mona’s work has appeared in multiple publications and online museums. She helps edit a small press, works with an online Star Trek fan magazine, is a former President of the Poetry Society of Indiana, and is Indiana Co-Leader for Authors Against Book Bans