Nothing to Hand

On a date known for other,
More important things, long years
Ago, a world of adults

Long gone, a child on a day-
School field trip had a dollar
To spend on a fast-food lunch.

Waiting a turn to order
At the counter, the child’s thoughts
Raced with possibilities.

Until the order was made,
All things under a dollar
Were possible, all at once,

A cornucopia more
Than any actual meal
Could ever really offer.

There are poets who believe
What’s unsaid must be richer
Than whatever’s written down,

Poets one suspects never
Stayed hungry for a dollar.
The child chose, ordered, and ate,

Then forgot altogether
What, remembering only
The triumph of having spent

Exactly, to the penny,
One dollar, nothing unused,
Nothing to hand back over.