My Wallet
Back when I used paper money,
I’d always arrange the greenbacks
with the dead white men’s faces
looking at me, right-side up,
by descending denomination—
Washington, Lincoln, Hamilton,
Jackson and, if it’s a good day,
a Franklin.
I’m sure I’ve wasted more time orienting
the bills than I would have spent
digging them out from the haphazard.
It’s like trying to write poems
with the same number of lines
in each stanza— a futile effort
at bringing order out of chaos
but sometimes it works.
(Written for the Living Poetry Prompt: Quirk.)
Bartholomew Barker, Poet 
That’s definitely a quirk!
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At least mine is a relatively harmless one.
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Absolutely
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fine folding money foresight
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Well put!
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HA! This is not a quirk. This is logical, rational, and I still do it because I still pay for things with cash. Not a lot of things, but I always have a few bills in my wallet.
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Good to know you’re one of us!
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Goodness, yes, what little I carry must all be facing up. As for the lines in each stanza, I had to count. :) Which is one of my quirks, stanza and syllable counting.
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I don’t get down to the syllable level, but my lines do need to be at least vaguely similar in size.
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It is a blessing and a curse to get to that point. I do not recommend it. It largely has to do with learning Asian forms of poetry at an early age.
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Funny enough, the bills I might carry are just wadded up in my pockets or purses 😂 my quirks lie elsewhere 😶
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Interesting. You should write to that prompt!
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