3 quarters;
2 dimes;
a nickel;
some pennies;
to complete the order.

A self-confident upper lip doing as it wishes;
A right hand-wrist combination that limps
And arches to complicate the issue.

A tiny change purse houses the futile
Attempt to make due that which
Regularly is done, an unsteady plunge
Into the depths of coinage, finding
A total that meets the demand.

Onlookers notice the internal quarrel
And make mental notes of appearance
And life’s status thrown upon this figure,
Morphed for whatever reason.

The true measure of this society we call
Ours’ is the fractional number of those
Participants in this scene who realize
Meaning and forget difference when
Whom it doesn’t concern makes the effort
To reach in the depths of dollar bills
And provide assistance to someone
They do not know; do not have to know,
But still give of themselves out of caring
And compassion, not of pity and regret.

11/28/2003

Posted on 03/30/2005
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