Copper Penny

A COPPER PENNY The significance of a copper penny… It’s part of our heritage Being raised in the copper mining area Of Ruth, Nevada Fathers and brothers worked for The Kennecott Copper Mining Corporation Both abhorred and sacrificed for It was a job The dirt was copper colored There was no gazebo No water No arboretum The only wish made was for the bell At the end of the day Men Working Sweating Crying Dying The copper colored beer with elbowed sleeves On copper tile Laborers draught The copper penny The juke box Seen in the dance of the copper leaves in fall Twenty and thirty years on It’s not gold An entirely different color The copper leaves rake sweetness layered Pilings high Dancing in the breeze A “Little” Fugue in G Minor The Classical Power Given by Time-Life living divided Spent Leaving Wondering where it is The beauty, the color, the penny