PoetryMine Poetry Mine

It was just another fall day, really not unlike any other,
as little Sally skipped home from school to be with her mother.
Today the fourth grader had finally aced a math test
and couldn’t wait to tell mom, she’d be so impressed.

But suddenly she saw something and quickly applied the brakes
to pick up a small round object near the sewer grates.
It was gray and metallic and sprinkled with grimy dirt,
so of course Sally wiped it clean on her favorite shirt.

It looked like a coin of some type, at least so she thought,
but her efforts to identify it all came to naught.
On one side was a big image of an Indian’s head,
on the other “a bull!” she naively said.

Sally casually slipped it in her pocket and resumed her skip,
’twas the “A” on the test, not the coin, driving  her fast clip.
“Mom, I got an A!” she yelled, flying through the door.
She got the expected praise, and a couple of dollars more.

June, the mom, knew two dollars wasn’t really much of a treat,
but though she worked hard, ’twas also hard to make ends meet.
She had split with her husband a year ago, had no idea where he is,
and, as you know, raising a child on one income is no one’s easy biz.

That night, after Sally was tucked in bed, sweet dreams in her head,
June had no time to think of rest, and did household chores instead.
While the dishes were running noisily, she gathered up dirty clothes.
Sally’s jeans she wore that day was included in the items she chose.

It’s a good thing June checks pockets before each wash is run,
finding pens, paper, gum, and who knows what, before she’s done.
But this night, while worrying about finances and nearly in a trance,
the coin she found was dropped in their piggy bank, with nary a glance.

But June and Sally shop each Saturday at the local grocery store,
where June’s best friend is a cashier, they have such great rapport.
June grabbed some random spare change from the piggy bank to take,
because it almost always means just one less bill to break.

With her shopping done, June chatted with her cashier friend,
reaching in her purse to pay the bill, which came to fifty-two ten.
She found she had it exactly, right down to the two nickels,
the cashier spotted the Indian Head quickly, laughing as if tickled.

“June!” she exclaimed, “this is a Buffalo nickel, and an old one at that,
 it’s in excellent condition and could make your bank account fat”.
June blushed with embarrassment, reached in her purse for another,
and exchanged the two nickels with her friend, one for the other.

Well as you might imagine, June wasted no time in checking this out,
and promptly contacted Heritage Gallery Auctions to erase any doubt.
The 1916 5C Buffalo nickel was a very rare find indeed,
it brought $15,000 at auction, and did so with rare speed.

June didn’t forget for a second who made the incredible find,
she bought Sally a bicycle and new school clothes, the trendiest kind.
Put $3000 in Sally’s college fund, and with the amount that remained,
June had developed a surefire plan to assure that happiness reigned.

She splurged a bit on herself, bought some things she’d been lacking,
and paid off her debts, quickly sent all of them packing.
Jane’s friend at the store was happy, with eight hundred dollars gained,
some of the money went in the bank, and some of it entertained.