Ode to the Penny

((As many of you may know (especially those who work as cashiers), the penny is going out of circulation as of February first. They actually stopped making them in May 2012, but soon they will be no longer used. So, I wrote a poem.))

Do you know how long

you have in this world?

Can you count the

days until the end?

It’s almost here,

but you cannot feel a thing.

Do you recall May 2012?

It was the beginning

of your end.

But still I feel that you

will not go without a fight.

Hundreds of millions of your

copper-bodied kin

will roam the country

for centuries.

Like your ancestors

you will be replaced,

forgotten in time.

But for now we

Will remember.

We will continue to

pick you up off the street,

claim you as our own

and store you away for later.

And when we have a hundred

you will still be no more

than just one.

February first will be

your Doomsday.

You will wander from

hand to hand, searching

for a home forever.

And for forever you

will rust away as pig food.

Farewell, fond friend.

You served us well,

but the country is better

with less change.