Renting time

Time our most valuable commodity

With an unknown expiry date

So what is your time worth trading for?

The expenditure for reward is the value determination

Rarely does the negotiation reach this degree

Instead the lucky ones hang this degree

Displaying how fortunate they were

To have this time to spend

Should not this commercial exchange

At least afford time to live well

With a roof, a meal and in good spirits

And do not forget that time

Should not be exchanged for suffering

It is just a short-term rental

Which should be returned by good care

Never to be enslaved by denial of dignity

-Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in Behind the Facade, Camille’s debut contemporary poetry collection. Renting time speaks to the moral value of labour and life itself — questioning a world in which human time is traded without guaranteeing dignity, care or the basic means to live well.