ABOUT THE POEM: This poem is about unmasking a betrayal. The speaker observes that everything has a price, that connection isn’t earned through love, it’s bought with cash. The line “I once met her there” confirms that the speaker’s experience was real, and that the “romance” existed in a transactional world. The poem points to hidden places of trade—the basement, beauty parlour, massage centre—“where shadows don’t cast,” suggesting artificial light and soul-less transactions. The woman offers herself, still performing the same highly respectable, intellectual, responsible, social, ethical, heartfelt job she always does. The speaker strips away her power, noting that the woman who rejected him would still be there for a price. The hurt is concentrated in the lines “Who took the change, but left the man. Who promised this outside of this whole scam.” She took his money, but discarded him as a human. The relationship itself, or the promise of love, is revealed as part of the scam. The final lines highlight social imbalance: those who are sold still keep a right to tell, while he cannot tell, because society doesn’t allow a man to criticize a woman’s behavior. The poem examines how human dignity, intimacy, and honesty are constrained by social and financial scripts. It is a personal confrontation with betrayal and the transactional nature of relationships, emphasizing that women are made of flesh and can be wrong like men; they are not untouchable goddesses.