I admit to begging
I readily acknowledge the use of spirits
I tell long involved stories about
my tragic childhood,
have gone shopping for expensive jewelry
and spent not a dime

I draw portraits
I paint word pictures and
there was this one time I offered to fly around the world
but didn't

It's all fiction, but this:
Guys like us
we pay
but not with cash.

_{for Dermot Reilly for the holidays}