About That PayPal Widget…
A week or so ago, I began adding the PayPal.Me widget below to my posts. It was a whim really. I didn’t give it much thought. Everybody seemed to be monetizing everything. Why not me?
But it has turned out to mean more than that.
People have been generous. I live close to the poverty line, so the money is appreciated and useful. But it is about more than the money.
Sometimes (often) as a poet, you feel as if you are pouring words into a vacuum. You wonder who, if anyone, notices and cares.
When someone sends me a dollar or five or ten or more, they are saying quite personally, I notice and I care. Poetry is what I do. They validate my work.
I know there are others who don’t donate who notice and care. I appreciate them as well.
But the donations are like a kick in the ass that says, good work, keep it up.
It appears that various publications are banning the widget. Perhaps more will. Perhaps Medium will. I hope not.
Money is a good thing to have, especially when you don’t.
But having someone validate your life’s work is invigorating.
You can’t put a price on that.
If you value my work, and can afford it, please consider occasionally sending me a buck or two at Paypal. No Paypal account is required. Even poets have to eat. :)
