Wishes Poem by Zoe Guillory

I twirled the penny between my fingers.
Shiny. New.
Bronze against my dirt-covered hand.
The water was cool. Inviting
me to toss in my wish.
But I only had one wish to make.
Only one chance with my penny.

Dull coins lay abandoned in the fountain.
Lost wishes. Dead wishes.
Lost in the calm ripple of the water.
But my penny was nameless.
Worthless with no wish to retrieve.

I wished for an easier life.
More sunshine, less rain.
I wished for peace of mind.
For a steadier heartbeat.
For the courage of a warrior.
I wished for an open heart.
The grace of a butterfly,
fluttering among the flowers.
I wished to be a lonely rose,
the spotlit beauty. Dangerous.
To be a star in the endless sky.
A single pixel on the screen.
A pebble on the shore.
I wished to be a lion,
the leader of my clan.
To be the mighty oak,
not the leaf I had always been.

And as I stood there, wondering
how to spend my coin, a small child
walked up beside me. Her innocent eyes
stared down at the water.
Hands empty.
I leaned forward and pushed my penny
into the delicate hand of this child.
She smiled up at me.
And made a wish.