Pennies

I give out love constantly.

“Are you okay?”

“Hey, I love your outfit”

“Leave her alone”

“He didn’t do anything” 

“You’ve been out of school for a while, I missed you.”

“I’m worried about you” 

“What happened, love?”

I give it out like its spare pennies.

That’s the thing. 

A penny a day 

A penny a period 

It adds up when you’re not getting any back. 

If I give out a penny a period for 7 periods a day, 5 days a week 

That’s 35 pennies a week. 

3 weeks a month. 

A buck and 5 pennies. 

12 months a year. 

12 bucks and 60 cents. 

Sure that’s not a lot 

It’s not hard for me to do that

It’s not hard for me to spare a penny 

But it isn’t the loss that bugs me. 

It’s the fact that people don’t even try. 

I get a half-hearted thank you at best. 

Yesterday 

I got a penny back. 

It shocked me.
I had to stop to process three simple words. 

Are you okay

From a stranger 

I’d never seen her before. 

It made me wonder 

If I give out of much love 

Why do I have such a hard time receiving such love? 

It’s not as if I don’t have friends 

It’s not as if I don’t have family 

Who every time we bid one another goodbye,

Do we say “I love you” 

I guess I had never believed it. 

I had just assumed that’s what people do. 

3 words 

One penny. 

One act of love returned. 

One person left to wonder why. 

I’ll have spent 12 dollars and 59 cents this year