Joshua Walker

Hope Costs Two Dollars

The old man
counted change

like he was measuring
the distance

between surviving

and not.

The cashier
never hurried him.

Outside,

rain
turned the parking lot

into a broken mirror.

A truck pulled away.

Another arrived.

The world
kept trading places.

When the coffee
finally reached
his hands,

he smiled

like warmth

had remembered
his name.

The receipt

said

$2.00.

It forgot

to include

the refill.

Joshua Walker is an Oklahoma poet and the author of The Least Weird Person Awake (Alien Buddha Press). His poetry has appeared in more than 125 literary journals across 15 countries and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He received a Bridport Prize Bursary in 2025.