To An Ancient Coin 2 Poem by robert dickerson

Easily you flowed, like Mer
cury like Nile
fuming through fields of knife-bright snow
swapping zincs for blues
now-noble metal
spilt milt
summoned from dross
lovely your ways, but what did you care?
being but fire-fire, earth and air.

Drawn to thin wire
beaten in fire
die-bit, punchstruck, till you said
'screw it, I'll do it'
you hissed in the bath
and with silvery wrath
rang ring-rang off the floor-
and that is the way it has always been done
for there's nothing new, nope, under the sun.