The Money Note Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

The Money Note
Bad time for shipping and I had no work, slept on the sofa
in my mother’s small flat, she sat up late drinking coffee,
reading and smoking cigarettes.
I had a small unemployment benefit mother took most of it
for lodging, I spent most days outside trying to find work and
sometimes I was lucky and got a temporary job as a washing
up at a cafe or cleaning the floors.

The old church in town was open to eight in the evening I often
went there to rest and sort of half sleep, one day in the front of
me I saw a big money note -500 coronas- picked it up, put it in
my pocket and debated whether to keep it or give it to the verger;
then organ music started can’t bear it and I left.
I thought of dinner and a nice bottle of wine, took a closer look at
the note, it was 500 coronas ok, only it was monopoly money and
quite useless, back in the church I put the note in the collection box.