ODE TO A SQUISHED DIME

At the County Fair, 1956
by Charles Darling

For a nickel, a machine
called An Expression of Faith
would take your dime
and squash it.
All tubes and gears and lights,
the thing would groan, squeak,
fart, smoke, and finally drop
a little silver oval in your hands,
hot as a pistol,
with Jesus's face on one side
and the Lord's Prayer on the other.
I took my medallion
home for Grandma,
but she wouldn't keep it
because it was Catholic
and had trespasses
instead of debts
and left out the part
about the kingdom
and the power and the glory.
She gave it back
and I went downtown
and set it on the railroad track.
And after the train went by
I had a piece of silver
smooth as glass and that
says something about
power and glory, by God.

To read the complete Writer's Almanac issue, see:
The Writer's Almanac for Wednesday, May 4, 2022 (https://www.garrisonkeillor.com/radio/twa-the-writers-almanac-for-may-4-2022/)

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