it's just a damned penny


A glint of a damned penny caught my eye
I reached for
the damned penny laying on the ground

maybe someone left the damned penny for my thoughts
so I stared at it
watching it lie there and stare back at me

It came upon on me
that if someone had paid for my thoughts
I actually needed to think

what kind of thoughts 
was I being paid for
how many thoughts should I supply

who left the damned penny for my thoughts?
was it a blogger looking for conformation
that someone dropped by

was it a teacher?
wondering if I actually had thoughts
and would I be able to relate them

was it mother?
from so long ago
trying to console me

should I take the damned penny to prove I was there?
if I did and they didn’t get my thoughts
would I be a thief?

I suppose I would be a thief
 if I didn't leave
 some kind of thoughts

where would I put them...?
on the ground?
with the damned penny?

what if a car ran over them?
are smashed thoughts as good as
perfectly formed thoughts?

or what if  a dog peed on them?
are thoughts steeped in urine
as good as thoughts steeped in classical music?

or what if a homeless person came along?
and took both the damned penny 
and my damned thoughts

whose eyes would I avoid?
would they tell the world that
I am a liar and a thief?

would they tell the world
they bought my thoughts 
for a damned penny?

would they tell the world
 they got nothing in return
for the damned penny?

would they tell the world
I never left a damned thought
for the damned penny?

I’m sorry but this has become way to complex so
I have decided not to sell my thoughts
 for a damned penny