The Backporch Review 2022

Pennies in the Windowsill
By Ella Brown, 12
I found a penny on my windowsill –
a weathered, bronze reminder
that we are all one, tied in spirit,
searching for new beginnings.
My grandma was a kind soul
dealt a cruel hand
made casual by five children at 21 years,
drained and darkened with age,
yet still deep in faith.
I was five when the first penny appeared,
a dark period, where the sun hid
and allowed the rain.
My grandma would open her windows
and sleep to the sound of the downpour.
At first, she lost her hair,
the warmth in her skin, then the body,
the strength, the hope
until her voice lost itself in memory.
No longer deep in faith,
I still find pennies on my windowsill.
13