coins in the rain

some days you just

don't want to make eye 

contact with anyone.

you aren't feeling

too sociable, or particularly friendly.

you need a break from the world,

from people,

from saying things like, hello.

you've got the blues

maybe,

or just tired, sick of love,

tired of rumination and what ifs,

so you look down

as you walk, lost in thought,

hands in your pocket,

kind of slumped over

in a bleak depressive way.

it's what poets and artistic people do

when they got nothing.

on these days though, you find

a lot of change

on the sidewalk.

or gloves, or umbrellas.

the money you find are

dimes and  pennies for the most part,

but occasionally

you'll strike it rich and find

a quarter, or a folded

crumpled dollar bill that escaped

someone's pocket.

you take the side streets, the alleys,

and cross over

when you see someone

coming at you with a smile

on their face.

you're just not in the mood

for chit chat. so you move on,

bending over

to pick up that penny.

when you get to the corner you

toss all the money

into the guy's hat

who lives on the stream grate.

that helps

a little.