Ripples Poem by D A Phinney

I remember many years ago
An old woman in the park
She'd come and kneel into the snow
When it was getting dark
And from the one good pocket
Of her torn and tattered dress
She'd take each day a single coin
And to her forehead press
And at the heated fountain there
So silently she'd pray
Till finally when her wish was come
She'd cast the coin away
Then she'd look around as if to say
This isn't what it seems
But the ripples in the water
Were the ripples of her dreams

But many years have passed since then
Though I keep it in my heart
Reminding me to treasure
What we have when we're apart
And I never think of loneliness
At times when I'm alone
For your smiling face makes me aware
Of what I've always known
And although we may grow old
Beneath the winter skies
Like the wishes in a fountain
I'll find summer in your eyes
So you see that while the things that I
Recall aren't what they seem
The ripples in my memory
Are the ripples of my dream