Ten Key

I had a theory for awhile
that between high school

and college

there should be a time

of compulsory service

not in the military but at a bank

to instill the fundamentals-

saving, spending, and the dreaded

budgeting

for money seems the ever-present issue

for the burgeoning adult

not out of carelessness but ignorance.

My time as a teller

taught me more about money

than classes or familial guidance

ever could

and day after day bearing witness

at times facilitating

the financial foibles of the rich and poor

noting the eccentric economy of the old

the desperate over-drafting of the young

corruption, hustles, counterfeits

I learned the current of cash flow

not secret or sacred but simple

capital as tool not sacred-cow.

It was mostly thankless work

underpaid and maybe menial

but I miss my fingers dancing

on the number pad 

imputing accounts, denominations,

deposits and liquidations

mastering that skill

soon to be extinct

if already fading- ten key.