How much is ten pounds to you?

A tenner, 10 bob

Ten quid or ten pounds

How much is it really worth?

As I put my 4 in to the hole in the wall

And a shiny new note fast appears

before it slips from my hand

into fine grains of sand

I think for a minute of its worth

I can spend it so quick

With a swish and a flick

And the invisible money has gone

Writing what those ten pounds could buy

Changes the money from none

Into a complex sum

Of what its actually worth .

Ok, so I think what that note represents

My mind thinks first of food

Perhaps 2 or 3 meals fast and ready,

Or one in a place which is more slow and steady.

However, if it comes with me into a shop,

That ten pound note is worth quite a lot

If im careful and count

I can get pasta, veg, meat and a drink,

Perhaps even a treat

And it might actually last just a week.

So what else could I buy with ten pounds?

Perhaps ten items from poundland

a book, a toy, a craft or some tins,

perhaps a dvd, or some cheap unbranded tea.

I could go on a spree

My ten pounds and me,

If I went shopping on sale.

But then my mind

Turns to more serious things,

Like transport for a week,

Or a train ride, return to see boo,

And it could go to my rent as well.

And gas, electric, or phone,

Those things might last longer

But still do I ponder,

 What more I could do with ten pounds?

I remember once ten pounds was enough,

To give clean water to a family for life

It certainly is true that ten pounds

Could go far if given away

Perhaps man a phone line

Or provide cups of tea

Or even a meal, or perhaps even three.

What value does ten pounds hold for me?

A lot more if I stop and think carefully.

It can go towards food, clothing and bills

(5 tshirts for a tenner in some stores)

As I think about this fact

I am stopped in my tracks

And vow to not tap and run

To stop the grains of sand

And to keep a more careful hold

of that ten pound note

that I didn’t care so much about.