I blame no one
that I lived in playgrounds with splinters
and red brick dreams, crumbled to old sugar.
My father swore
we'd build our nest far away where we
could lie about the weather
and the sadfaced relatives wouldn't find a coin
heavy enough to balance on a stick and hand it over sympathetically
along with the honey of jagged bees.
My mother swore at the floor
in the bloody breath of the basement
as she did laundry
between the puddles of rusty rain.
Little bits of feathers from our breasts
hung in her arms, and still she kicked
the floor. Life is always less than sensible.
Happy and sad aren't the only roads,
and there's no such thing
as a simple fork in the path.
The government added a third dollar
to the coin. But my father said there were still only two sides.
And he said a coin couldn't slice desperation
any more than a bowling ball could cut a cake.
The seasons fainted over us like birds dying
from a lack of new ideas.
Clouds bowled through the nine-pin corn
and left gaps for silent prayer.
The new coin was not enough to pay a roofer
and my father couldn't fix anything, because he bathed the corn
in terry-cloth hands and said there were no other skills
to be had for one of our kind.
So we flew away again, from our dream,
and settled for a decent roof.
I took the coin
and learned to play the blues guitar.
Author notes
Feb 21 1853 U.S. authorizes minting of $3 gold pieces
A contest entry
- Click 52. by perfectsunset.
625 points, ended September 7, 8 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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Wow~
This is a Beauty and Love Your Metaphors
Powerful Images also the Emotions
You brought forward
Bravo!!
Excellent take on the prompt~
Congratulations on Your shiny!
-throws confetti-
Woot~ 
Thank You for sharing Your Talent
Best wishes in all You do
with love & light~ Desire~*~
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Wow; I am VERY impressed. You took this
historical event and ran with it. You made
it your own. I love the metaphor placed
throughout and the style of your poetry
is exquisite. This spoke many volumes to me,
and I adored every single line.
Best of luck & thanks for entering
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wow thank you so much for this encouraging comment. i would never have written anything like this but for the creative prompt. thanks for hosting!
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You have such a way with words: "the honey of jagged bees." I had to laugh! And wisdom: "there's no such thing as a simple fork in the path." Combined: "And he said a coin couldn't slice desperation any more than a bowling ball could cut a cake." It's interesting that you're writing about a $3 gold piece considering the old saying, "phony as a $3 bill"--but this coin is real, and .900 fine gold. Humor and wisdom--a winning combination, in a spellbinding narrative with a serene ending. One of your best! And I hope you win the gold in the contest!
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thank you! uh... i actually didn't mean it as humorous but funny is good too haha. well yeah the bowling ball image was meant to be sort of comical.
thanks so much for the good wishes.
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You're welcome! ('Tis better to laugh than to cry!
)
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