Lucky penny

Solace

I used to believe in lucky pennies.
I thought it was bad luck
not to pick one up,

that if your eyes spotted one
and you didn’t bend down
and pinch it
and slip it into
the pocket of your jeans

where it might co-mingle
with less lucky coins that were
impressive reminders against your thigh
of slow old slides and turns and dips,
hope-filled piggy banks
that never grew up, and
flipping games
against a curb
you  played alone
against yourself
with nothing to gain,
so you were always the loser,

if you didn’t pick up a lucky penny,
even a dirty one,
you’d pay with a life in ruins,
a sucker’s investment
in a fortune of trouble,
instead of the easement
of the ache of loneliness
for one whole day.