5.17.2012

Old Penny


Tell me, traveler,
about the sticky pockets of toddlers,
the tip jars of the dreaming baristas,
and the cupped hands of the hopeless.

Tell me how to bear
being someone's good luck.
Tell me how to tumble head over tail
then choose who wins.
Tell me how to shoulder the weight
of a wish.

Tell me how to be
spun, jangled, sorted, stacked.
Tell me how to be
hammered, smashed, chipped, counted.
Tell me how to be so spent,
yet still carry your message
of emancipation.