Economy
I used to have a lot of theories, now I haven’t any. I do whatever the least me wearies that costs the smallest penny.
Kay Sage
SourceLicence:Public domain (US, unrenewed)
I used to have a lot of theories, now I haven’t any. I do whatever the least me wearies that costs the smallest penny.
In just four short lines, the speaker admits to a quiet kind of surrender. Once she had "a lot of theories," a head full of principles and explanations about how things should be. Now she has none, and she doesn't seem to mourn them. What guides her instead is a simple rule: do whatever tires her least and costs the least money.
The title, "Economy," works on two levels. It means thrift, spending as little as possible, but it also suggests saving energy, the way a person might ration effort when they're worn down. The tone is dry and a little wry. She sounds neither bitter nor triumphant, just matter-of-fact, as if she's describing a sensible budget. The tidy rhyme and light rhythm add to the deadpan humor, making a fairly bleak confession sound casual. Behind the shrug, you can sense something like fatigue or disillusionment: when the grand theories stop working, comfort and cheapness are what's left.