The Sand Dollar

Beachcombing, we meet Maxine, who’s been on a mission

For pretty shells, sure, like everyone

And ‘Angels’ Tears’, those drops of coloured glass you find

But mainly what’s on Maxine’s mind

Is Sand Dollars

No, not mere money left behind

Here’s treasure of a different kind

Half-hidden in the rippled sand

And never touched by human hand

That’s Sand Dollars

No showy shape or colours here

A mystic pentagon, austere

And then SIX slits - but why not five?

And was this creature once alive?

The Sand Dollar?

So hard to find: what’s their allure?

They bring the finder luck, for sure

Maxine is finding none, she says

But she keeps hunting nonetheless

Rare Sand Dollars

Next day, our early-morning walk

Along the beach; we laugh and talk

The lapping waves flop out and back

And offer up, right in our track

A Sand Dollar

Good fortune to be here today

A kind of jackpot, you could say

To wander happy on the beach

Just being here within the reach

Of Sand Dollars