Penny

We laid a penny

On the track

 

Standing with my

Brother Wayne

Little boys as close

As we dared

 

A steam locomotive

With a line of cars

Filled with old growth logs

Headed from the woods

Up east to the mill

 

We would run to

See it pass

And standing close

Feel the breeze of

The speeding train

 

Then look for our penny

Now shiny and flat

As a pancake

We would feel

Its smooth surface

With our thumb

Put it in our pocket

And soon transfer it

To that special place

Where we kept our treasures

 

Ron Erickson

October 25, 2023