I Pay in Satin Cash

I Pay in Satin Cash - meaning Summary

Delicate Exchange of Value

The speaker frames an emotional or social exchange as a small, elegant payment — "satin cash" — for a brief acknowledgment. They note the other person never set terms, offering a petal in return for a paragraph and admitting only a best guess at the balance. The poem captures uncertainty about reciprocity and value, using concise, wry language to register modesty, longing, and the awkwardness of unequal or unspecified expectations.