In For A Penny

33 Replies

A shiny new penny,

Mint fresh from the bank.

Crossing the palms,

Of a Clint or a Hank.

 

The journey it’s had,

It’s perils unknown.

To a fountain perhaps,

One day it was thrown.

 

Lost was the penny,

Alone in the dirt.

Tossed from the pocket,

Of a young woman’s skirt.

 

Perhaps kept in a jar,

For decades untold.

The journey’s not over,

There’s more to unfold.

 

A child’s favourite coin,

Was once in a box.

Hidden from view,

Just under the socks.

 

An actor once flipped,

That polished up prop.

For his role in a movie,

As a villain or cop.

 

Our penny has journeyed,

In distance and time.

A life in the sunshine,

And others in grime.

 

The dimes and the quarters,

They all have a place.

But the penny’s held dear,

In a long state of grace.

 

Some words are remembered,

Like our copper sublime.

In vernacular speech,

It surely does shine.

 

One for your thoughts,

Another to save.

Songs to be sung,

Our penny so brave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

33 thoughts on “In For A Penny”

  5. Murphy’s Law

    My husband remembers getting Lucky Strike cigarettes from the vending machine and they would have two new pennies secured under the cellophane wrap for change!

    I was in eighth grade before my dad would allow me to get loafers! They were called Penny Loafers because they had slits in the front flap where you inserted a penny. My dad actually put in two brand new shiny COPPER pennies! I walked on clouds for months!

    I think today, instead of ‘A penny for your thoughts” it would be “A dollar for your thoughts.” Hmmmm, doesn’t have the same meaning, does it?

    But “Penny wise and dollar foolish” will always ring true because so many people are exactly that.

    Ewwwww, I can’t even think of all the hands that touch money before it gets to me.
    Ginger

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply ↓
    2. quiall Post author

      I did that with my loafers too! The place where I bought them provided me with shiny new pennies. In Canada we have a coin worth a dollar called a loonie. That would go quite well with so many peoples’ thoughts…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  6. dweezer19

    Wonderful, Pam! I used to be obsessed with wondering what hands money had passed through. My kids collected coins for years. Much like trees, their experiences and visions would be spellbinding. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  7. Dale

    Wonderful ode to the penny.
    To think we no longer use them here in Canada, eh? I have a jar full. I have rolled a bunch but can no longer find the containers or wrappers! I know the bank is obliged to take them when I finally lug them over… 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. quiall Post author

      I have lots of old pennies kicking around. When it was first announced they were discontinuing them, I went to the bank and got myself a roll. I’m sorry I only got one.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  12. Mark Lanesbury

    I can see it down the ages…carrying a spear, a gunslinger, captain of a ship or even a bank manager. That coin has indeed been everywhere Pam, in time and place. Great verse dear lady, a pity the current currency is plastic (all our notes are plastic over here), and the coinage too shiny to appear well traveled, having been only recently introduced in 1966 (pound to dollar), and so on that road has no life or adventure yet. Probably wears prada to cross the hallway 🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

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