A Cent

I picked up a cent Not worth a dime Enough to buy a peanut Not worth my time Twelve months without rest Trying to feed The many mouths in my nest To satisfy their greed I picked up a cent It burned a hole Through my hand and foot And through my sole Porous to money Trying to reach The pie in the sky Dying to be rich I picked up a cent Not worth a penny It had a dull tint But still it was money Mining fool’s gold To build pyramid schemes Like Egyptians of old Raiding tombs I picked up a cent Then found another So made it a habit Like a coin collector Bit hard on one And dropped it at once Because I remembered gran’ I had picked up a curse