The small girl
saved dimes in a tall, slim canister,
round and
glittery-paper gold.it had a tight fitting lid that popped when she pulled it off
the dime bounced noisily into the long can when she dropped it in.
The gold papered can had a bright red crown on one side;
a big red 7 sat on top of the crown.
The can came from Angelo,
the wiry, smiling, dark skinned man
over on the avenue.
His was the store where grown-ups bought the brown stuff
used for their evening drinks.
The ice cubes, then the brown stuff, then the clear bubbly soda,
was poured into the tall glass.
“Ahhh”, they would say with the first gulp, “that tastes good.”
