Frank J. Tassone
Montebello, NY, USA

Lost Keys and Found Coins

Somewhere in the snow lay my car keys. They fell out of my pocket while I operated the snow-blower. Now, the sun drops behind the Ramapo Mountains. Soon, the temperature will drop below zero.

I thrust my arm up to the elbow into a snowbank. Nothing. I search the surface, hoping I only dropped them in line of sight. No sign. I look in my pockets again, in case I simply missed them. No such luck.

The light fades too quickly. I return inside. Sigh as I strip off my sweat-sodden cloths. Brood while I savor a hot shower. Muse over a hot cup of coffee about the parable of the lost coin from Luke’s Gospel. That woman lit lamps and swept her house to find a drachma coin, whose discovery she deemed worthy of a neighborhood celebration.

I can’t hope to share her joy before spring thaw.

moonlit snow
so much loss
beneath the crust