Best Pennies Poems
Acorn hats of wood
balanced on each fingertip
while giggles spill rich.
Felt tip markers draw the eyes
in this poor man's puppet show.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I find them~
in the cracks of asphalt
in streets and parking lots.
They are copper pilgrims,
their heads bowed down,
waiting for my hand.
Some are slick with rain,
others dull as old bones,
but each one carries
the weight of a wish
someone forgot to make.
I gather them like
tiny suns, warm
from the sidewalk’s breath,
until my pockets sag
with the gravity
of abandoned luck.
I pry one from the teeth of a gutter~
Lincoln’s face half-eaten
by time.
Still,
I take it home,
lay it on the windowsill
where the light
could baptize it anew.
What is a coin
but a story paused mid-sentence?
I am the archaeologist
of small fortunes,
excavating where
no one else looks.
Someday, I will leave them
in places where hands
might need them more~
tucked under bus seats,
balanced on ledges,
for the next believer
to pocket a tiny prayer.
Long after the drought
vast fields of parched earth
have waited with ears to the wind
Desperate with thirst and withered to rust
each breeze tosses dust to the sky
Then, thundering sounds, from the stomper of clouds
comes from deep from the girth of the hills
There are trampling sounds, and rain seeds are thrown
in answer to prayers, with requisite words
that roars to deafen their fears
In great anticipation, the sky becomes dark
and the spark of excitement is high
The sun becomes lost, and the pebbles of rain
fall to earth, tossed like bright silver coins
Hydration of air, is a gift from the gods
Invigorates, and awakens the sod
Precipitation arrives, and the world comes alive
Crystallization of hope and surprise
Sun-choked and thirsty, earth turns up an eye
grateful, at last, to the clouds in the sky
While Into green silk, comes a new stalk of grass
and raindrops are now welcomed home with applause
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4/4/16 Originally For "Elements Part #3 Water
Sponsor Laura Loo, for Any poem written on April 4th/ 2016
The hands of twilight amble through glazed clouds
Soothing my emptiness, a heart’s debris,
Although one longtime wish rattles aloud
Warm is the breeze that flutes in symphony.
Soothing my emptiness, a heart’s debris,
Ripples of time explore true north’s hourglass
Warm is the breeze that flutes in symphony;
As life seeks a reaping from time’s compass
Ripples of time explore true north’s hourglass
When in a gush, drizzles of kismet pour,
As life seeks a reaping from time’s compass
Oh, pennies from heaven open sky’s door!
When in a gush, drizzles of kismet pour
Drenching the thirst of love’s rebirth, joy flares;
Oh, pennies from heaven open sky’s door,
I taste once more a blooming warmth so rare.
Drenching the thirst of love’s rebirth, joy flares;
Although one crumpled wish rattles aloud;
I taste once more a blooming warmth so rare.
The hands of twilight, wander through glazed clouds
. …….. ..
* Oxford English Dictionary:’e. pennies from heaven:
unexpected benefits; also (in sing.): a windfall,
a godsend (rare).
*A song, Pennies from Heaven, was composed
in 1936---‘ don't you know each cloud contains
pennies from heaven’…
Rhonda and Cyndi’s Penny Pantoums Contest
by nette onclaud
pennies, nickels, dimes
small, but big enough for dreams
coins that roll in chimes
Single pennies wont get you much these days
Hardly anything can you buy for a cent
Cents can become dollars if squirreled away
Save enough pennies you can pay the rent
Hardly anything can you buy for a cent
Yet I still pick up those pennies that I see
Save enough pennies you can pay the rent
Its a good place to start you'll have to agree
Yet I still pick up those pennies that I see
Cents can become dollars if squirreled away
Its a good place to start you'll have to agree
Single pennies won't get you much these days
A pile of pennies built strong love,
Childhood memories so sweet,
As they look down from above,
Helped make me feel complete.
Childhood memories so sweet,
Playing Rumoli using the penny,
Helped make me feel complete,
Laughter grew from so many.
Playing Rumoli using the penny,
Summer was a bonding time,
Laughter grew from so many,
Family dinners so sublime.
Summer was a bonding time,
As they look down from above,
Family dinners so sublime,
A pile of pennies built strong love.
Written by Lee Ramage
September 7, 2012
For the contest
“Rhonda and Cindy’s Penny Pantoums”
"See a penny, pick it up, the rest of the day, you'll have good luck.
See a penny, let it lay; bad luck you'll have all the day." (a proverb
from my childhood the way it was recited to me by my mother)
I’ll always pick up pennies from the ground.
If I chance to see one lying there,
It’s an easy thing; I just stoop down.
I’ll take that copper coin from anywhere!
If I chance to see one lying there,
whether on cement, the dirt, or floor.
I’ll take that copper coin from anywhere!
It matters not if I am rich or poor.
Whether on cement, the dirt, or floor,
that coin I will pick up, for mother said
it matters not if I am rich or poor,
And what she said still echoes in my head.
That coin I will pick up, for mother said
to take it means good luck for all the day.
And what she said still echoes in my head:
I’ll have bad luck if I just let it lay.
To take it means good luck for all the day.
It’s an easy thing; I just stoop down.
I’ll have bad luck if I just let it lay.
I’ll always pick up pennies from the ground.
For RHONDA & CYNDI'S PENNY PANTOUMS Poetry Contest
I found forty rusty pennies in a black leather slipper
while my itchy nose sneezed more than three times;
why were they hidden from thrifty mother?
Weren't they less valued than silver dimes?
While my itchy nose sneezed more than three times,
mom woke up to scold me for my loud laughter;
she was mad and wanted to hear anything but lies
and frantically screaming, she pulled my curly hair.
Mom woke to scold me for my loud laughter,
I tripped on the slipper, falling flat as a bear,
and frantically screaming, she pulled my curly hair;
with an angered face, I retrieved to my dark lair.
She was mad and wanted to hear anything but lies,
mom woke up to scold me for my loud laughter;
with an angered face, I retrieved to my dark lair...
I found forty rusty pennies in a black leather slipper.
One was when it was new.
Shiny head calling to me from days of childhood.
Pick me up and make a wish..Surely you know this to be true
for people have told you your whole life it is.
Having doubts I grasped the penny
Heard the voices of the past Make a wish and it will be true..
and i wished for you.
Second was when we were one and strong
I saw the heads again.whispering their taunts.
Pick me up and make a wish, surely you know this to be true
So I grabbed that penny and held it close
And thought my wish and blew a kiss
and once again wished for you
Number three was tough,dirty and worn.
Hidden under and could barely be heard.
Right at my feet as the connection had ended.
It rasped pick me up and make a wish surely
you know this to be true
I glared at that penny through eyes fogged with pain.
I bet on two others and look at the cost.
My spirt is tattered my hearts at a loss.
I dug it out and rubbed it...
My you've had it rough
Your surface is worn with deep gouges through out
Still it called again in a voice barely heard..Make a wish
surely you know this to be true but went on..those others
you bet on where shiny and new, my surface is beaten but it's what
I've been through..My magic still works of this I assure you.
And I grasped that dirty penny in hands filled with hurt
Kissed it rubbed it and once again....
I wished for you.....
You can fool a fool,
you can cheat one’s mind.
You can con a con,
even steal from the blind.
You can shake a shaker,
you can brutalize a Brut.
You can mob a mobster –
and embezzle their loot.
You can charm a charmer,
sell your soul for a penny.
You can take from a taker,
for pennies you have many.
But can you hold a hand,
and experience love for free?
Know true respect for all to see?
Gain one's trust without a fee?
You poor, poor, foolish soul,
who will ever get to know the "real me".
>>>>>>>>>If pennies from heaven were made of gold,
we would need everyone to save a soul.
For each soul that is saved, there are three that are lost,
a high price to pay,no matter what is the cost.
When we look up towards the heavens,
and see the bright stars in the sky.
They look like bright gold pennies,
and seem to glisten in our eyes.
When day time comes, they all seem to dissapear,
or are they floating on clouds that seems so near.
At night angels send us pennies of gold,
to pay for the cleansing of another poor soul.
Once all the souls are saved, the pennies will stop falling,
we will all be in heaven then, for that is our calling.
The angels will gather all the souls from this earth,
precent them to God, so He may have His final word.
When we go before God, we will kneel and pray,
ask for the forgiveness of our sins we commited each day.
The good Lord will know if we are sincere,
and invite our souls in, to meet our family already there.
I saw three pennies in a pool,
as I walked along the bay.
Three pennies shining in the light
with nothing much to say.
written - 07.26.2016
Ban and J.R. sat in the kitchen restless in their chairs,
rambling on with pleasure, they were such a pair.
Outside a very pulling seductive summer day,
but they were focused with what is in front of them.
They have finished counting all the old
copper wheat pennies in the canning jar,
which was full to the brim. It was theirs.
Their eyes wooed still, with anticipation;
how many there are, as they shared.
So many they thought, with open jaws.
Once more their hand reached into the jar.
With excitement, fingers curl around the copper coins,
withdrew out a few stamped, with stars
with hopes of spending the coins.
3/4/2023
Writing Challenge - ''J'' Words - Poetry Contest 2. Jar
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Pick up lost pennies
You may get an angel kiss
It is worth a try