Bleed On the Contract

Bleed On the Contract

Bleed on the contract
I want more than ink
on that dotted line
I want a slice of your future
your spirit
your spine

You come in late
shirt stuck to your spine
eyes ringed in red and coffee
fingers trembling
on the folder you grip

You need this deal like you need air
like the roof is already buckling
like a single “no”
will be too much

I watch you lay out your offer
papers neat
graphs straight
numbers tight
voice trying not to break

Then I pick up my pen
slash the rate in half
and ask how much of your body
you are willing to stake

You start to protest
talk about fairness
talk about cost
talk about the mouths
you are trying to feed

I slide one page
across the table
say “if you want this to live
here is what I need”

You read the clause
where failure means
surrendering assets
hours
rights you did not know
you had left to lose

I lean in
tap the signature line
tell you it is simple
sign or choose

Your pulse is loud in your neck
as you grip the pen like a knife
you know this is a cut
that will follow you
for the rest of your life

Hand shakes
pen slips
a red streak drops
where your signature should sit
clean and black

But I smile wide
slide the paper back
like a trophy
that tiny smear of life
a perfect little seal

Proof you bled
to keep this sinking wreck upright
proof I own
more than the deal

You will tell yourself
you had no choice
that monsters like me write the laws
that the world runs on this kind of cut

Maybe you are right
maybe this system was designed
for my teeth in your gut

Still
when you walk out of here
lighter in the pockets
and heavier in the chest
know I am the one who got fed
and you are the feast

Years from now
when you look back
on the day everything changed
and your veins started buzzing
with debt like white noise in a storm

You will remember that one drop
on the paper
and the shape of my grin
as you signed to conform