(Not Quite) 10 Cents A Dance
A song parody to a Ruth Etting classic
I’m part of the Medium #poetry community,
gee, that poetry hashtag is cheap.
When I get to the homepage
there’s only fluff on how to write
for algorithms,
rather than how to think.
I’m one of those lady writers
an insufferable poet, you know.
One that Medium occasionally curates
at (not exactly) a dime a throw.
10 cents a dance,
that's what they used to pay me,
now, it's much fewer than that.
(Not even) 10 cents a dance,
readers and viewers,
claps that don't make a sound.
Seven to midnight,
the Partner Program cashes up,
loudly the notifications go,
The stats page counts the tallies…
Spare change is all I'm owed.
I used to think that I found my platform;
something more
than a quid pro quo dance.
All I need is a reader,
Come on, big boy,
(not quite) 10 cents a dance.
