A POEM - I'D JUST GO CHEAPIN' IT ALONG

I’D JUST GO ON CHEAPIN’ IT ALONG
I looked at a calendar.
I had another eleven days in Indonesia,
Less than two more weeks in SE Asia.
Then I was off to Australia.
I didn’t know what to expect down there.
I didn’t know how I’d react,
To being back in a first world country,
Where you couldn’t so easily pay off the cops,
Or pick up drugs at a pharmacy,
Or pick up a girl at a club.
I didn’t know what I’d do,
When I had to pay similar prices as in the US,
For a meal or a beer or a place to stay.
“aw, hell,” I thought. “I’ve been cheapin’
It my entire life, even back home in the States.
It’s not like I can’t keep cheapin’ it along down there.”
I already had a friend with whom I could stay,
And if I found a bar gig I’d drink for cheap,
And really, more than a bed to lie down in,
An electrical socket to plug my laptop into,
And a few beers to take the edge off this sharp life,
What else did I really need?
I smiled and ate another cardboard biscuit.