#1

first job, first paycheck
card application approved -
let the good times roll

#2

stopping by the mall
can fin'lly get that new phone -
heady with new wealth

#3

front of the counter
slice of plastic being swiped -
a rite of passage

#4

needing comfort food
no cash, but i have plastic -
maybe just this once

#5

card credit maxed out
needing to go out tonight -
need another card

#6

marrying today
kept my box of cards secret -
something borrowed, blue

#7

he keeps on calling
won't take no for an answer
demanding i pay

#8

regret
didn't learn a thing about
compound interest

#9

these debts overwhelm
online, i seek a way out
i am not alone

#10

final payment made
twenty years in the making
finally i'm free

....