Investor — Summary

Dave BontaCheerful

in order to put my house in order now the joy is all in my issue

money giving me money for my money like hands of one color for every god

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The speaker of "Investor" sounds like someone who has found a new kind of satisfaction in wealth. The opening line plays on the phrase "put my house in order," which usually means sorting out your life, but here it seems tied to finances. The word "issue" is a clever double meaning: it can mean stocks or bonds issued, but also children or offspring. So the joy the speaker feels may come from money breeding more money, as if profit were a family line.

The second stanza makes this stranger. "Money giving me money for my money" is almost a tongue-twister, circling back on itself the way compound interest does. The image of "hands of one color / for every god" suggests that money is a shared faith, one that looks the same whatever you otherwise worship. The tone is cool and deadpan. The speaker never complains, but the flat, satisfied voice leaves an uneasy feeling that something human has been swapped out for something mechanical.

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