To An Antique Coin 5 Poem by robert dickerson

You're an indemnity
a fire-blasted
fraction of a dowry-fee
an extinct species
well-dweller
odds-maker
a tip, a toss-up, a wager
tins' better half, golds' dismay
an honored guest at the periodic table.

Kingdoms you survived
and gods out-lived
snug in your red-dirt bed
dozing, reposing
until now
when following the plow
the sharp-eyed gleaner spied
you in the furrow, an atypical stone
gleaming dully in the midday sun.