Slightly off-center, just past the front door,All by its lonesome, sat a penny on the floor.
Dazzling in stardom, on the freshly vacuumed stage,
In a spotlight,
made of sunlight, brilliantly displayed.
Common sense
applied, it was glaringly misplaced,
Just as I bent down to lift up good old Honest Abe;
Suddenly, I recoiled – fearful of falling for a trap.
What if it were planted just to see how
I’d react?
Possibly, the owner had devised
a cunning test
To measure the integrity of their newest guest;
If I am compelled to snatch the booty from the snare
I might be deemed a thief, or worse, a bum! were I to dare.
I knew ---- I never intended to pocket that mere trinket
But if caught
mid-pluck, my catcher just might think it.
So I retreated
to my seat, chagrined, feeling silly,
Yet happy not to take a chance on looking-guilty.
Had I simply picked it up and placed it on the table
I’d not be left to wonder if I’m mentally unstable.
Determined to distract myself from all of this nonsense
I grabbed a
coffee-table book, as an innocent pretense -
Right then,
my host entered the room - and in a Snap -
A twenty dollar bill sprang from the flap onto my lap.
I shoved it deep inside the pages, my face the color of a beet
Before that hard-back hit the table,
I’d abounded to my feet.
“Let’s
go”, I barked, already halfway through the door
Anxious to get back into the driver’s seat once more;
No sooner does the engine roar – I’m finally off the hook
My rider (finger-pointing)
nonchalantly says, “Oh, look” –
. . . . . .
. . . “There’s a penny on the floor.”
