...
(The Art of Stealing)
Sometimes,
She looks in her pocket
And finds somebody else's wallet
It's one thing when you do it on purpose
But it's entirely different when it's an accident
(She thinks that says more
about her personality
Than she'd like it to)
.
She's lived most of her life
Looking for money
There's no better way to remind her
Of all her failings
Than to point out that money
Doesn't buy you happiness
(She already has enough doubt)
.
(She'd disagree, though,
That money can't buy you happines
Because nothing would make her happier
Than paying off her debt)
.
It's a simple fact of life:
Eat, sleep, collect
Steal
Con
Lie and swindle
Her life is one big manual
Of how to go to jail
.
Every time she reaches another million
She has a small celebration
Goes to a restaurant
Or buys a new coat
And she promises herself
That when she pays off her debt
She'll never shop in the bargain bin
Or the cheapest stores again
(It almost makes her cry
When she's at the restaurant,
Having a good time,
Before she notices
the gold watch
Belonging to the man
Next to her at the bar
Is inside her purse)
.
Practice makes perfect
And if you practice perfectly,
It becomes instinct
She never would've thought stealing
Would become a second nature
But she can't help but feel
That to make room for this new part of herself
Something else had to give
And she doesn't want to know what it was
.
Sometimes,
If she's on a new island
And isn't paying attention to where she's going
She finds herself in front of casinos
Or poker dens
Almost like she can smell money
From miles away
Which seems kind of shady and despicable
.
Someday, when her debts paid off,
She'd like to be the kind of person
Who gives money to charity
But considering the kind of person she is now
That probably won't happen
.
She'll settle for being a little less desperate
She'll pickpocket for a challenge
And go to casinos
To have a good time
Because if she can't be a good person
Then she can at least enjoy herself
While being bad
(She wishes the sight of gold
Didn't make her drool
But as despicable as it is, it's her life:
The Manual of Stealing)