Laundry day

i wonder where my quarter has been
from when it dropped out of its mold
got caught between the folds
of clothes
and landed shinycold
on a winter ground--
was it part of a fair wage to a coffee harvester?

i wonder where my quarter has been
since its minutes at the mint
before its brief bank stint
now getting mixed up with my lint--
did it ever fund the Iraq war?

i wonder where my quarter has been
and who it has favored,
was it ever savored like the
last bite of an ice cream cone
dripping all over your fingers?
or was it spent spent spent
before it had time to repent--

always switching hands
(but never switching sides)