I am counting quarters, 6, 7, 8
unless I have $2 I will have to wait.
I do, I'm good and all is well
and all of them are shiny bright.
I have some that are colorful, dark and distressed,
from years so covered up you have to guess
I call these my "alchemy" quarters and I
am bummed when I need to use them for wash
as they are so beautiful
so much variety
so strange to think
of all that the quarters have been through
...to rub and leak against chemicals
and reactions to the air
where have these quarters been?
Gaseous fumes on other planets?
In the soil on Mars?
In the souls of the devils
underneath the counter at some
Country Western Bar
have they been on floorboards
or floating in raw sewage
in the pockets of politicians
or the grubby hands
of a homeless woman
counting stars
Where have they been?
I just hold on to them sometimes.
Admiring their dark purples, blacks and greens, sepias and rusted reds.