For a long while I’ve been doing poetry just for effect – not for a cause. I didn’t find a cause, not because I don’t believe in causes. I’m all for peace, for curing disease, for ending violence, for feeding the world, for a clean environment, for prosperity, for happiness. But too many words have been lent to such worthy causes. I needed to find a path less travelled, a cause that has not been overly underwritten.

I finally find myself with a cause, pitting my poetry against the penny…
penny-ante and anti-penny.

Pennies are more costly than valuable. Their production is time-consuming and environment-harming. They take up more space and time than they are worth. Americans have a sentimental attachment to them but, folks, it’s time to get over it. The penny has long outlived its useful span. And Lincoln won’t lose face, thanks to the five-dollar bill.