by William Aarnes
Paying with cards
or phones, people
now carry fewer
and fewer coins
yet here someone’s
dropped a dime
on the sidewalk.
FDR’s profile
recalls the time
“THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA”
had dime stores
(not dollar stores), [
a time when one
of the luckless
might beg, “Buddy,
can you spare
a dime.”
Though the coin
contains no silver,
it’s shiny enough
to catch the eye
and still worth
“One Dime.”
And it’s embossed
with the mottos
“LIBERTY,”
“IN GOD WE TRUST,”
“E PLURIBUS
UNUM.”
Your choice:
pick the dime up
or just let it lie.
William Aarnes lives in South Carolina.
