09/15/2024 "The Final Ask" Inside the portrait gallery, are all the wrong faces. My friends didn't make the cut. Don't they deserve a piece of tin too? I grew up, hoping for this day: a leisurely stroll. I just want to be paid, in the most agreeable way. You know what I mean? The final ribbon, cut, lands at my feet. Ask for my name: investor, outside the frame; oil, inside the paints. You know what I mean? So mean. _________ Ally F.V.