Eye On The Money by Carrie Sword

The Great Seal of the United States encircles
the Eye of Providence, and above it
the seal says, “Annuit Coeptis” –
“Providence favors our undertakings.”
Maybe in the excitement
of victory, the founders of America
presumed to speak for the eye
who speaks with a silent gaze.
That watcher on the back of the dollar
has seen a lot from the top of its pyramid.
It used to know the hands of Americans
intimately, traveling from purchase to purchase
observing palms releasing the symbol-heavy
paper and receiving it, passing and
receiving it; the key and the scales,
the eagles, arrows and olive branch laying
right there in our grasp; the eye knowing
the royal road to consciousness is money
well spent and that people can buy themselves
out of trouble if they understand
the trouble they’re in. They can buy
time straight off the clock if they’re in the right
place at the right moment.
Carrie Sword (she/her; @DrCarrieSword) holds a bachelor's in English, a master’s in counseling psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. She specializes in Jungian dreamwork through her psychotherapy practice. Pubs: Sky Island Journal, Ink Drinker's Poetry, FeversoftheMind Poetry. She holds an Associated Press Award for Feature Writing.