melted

one hundred stacked pennies

a stack of one hundred dollar bills, all bound together with thick rubber, how much does it cost?

i ask myself these questions sometimes
measuring the height of
one hundred stacked pennies, unsurprisingly taller
than your average stack of bills
does it matter that one takes up more space
if the other is worth more?
if one person takes up more space in your life
but isn't worth as much as another
are they only worth mere pennies?

i ask myself these questions sometimes
reading the dates on
one hundred stacked pennies, each different
than each other, different in their own ways
does it matter that each is slightly different
if the majority of the parts are the same?
if one person is slightly different from another
and feels tormented over their differences
are they worth more than what they think?

i ask myself these questions sometimes
counting and flipping through
one hundred dollar bills, stacked neatly
atop one another, bound tight
does it matter whether the stack is of
one-dollar bills or one hundred-dollar bills
if the whole stack is worth the same amount?
if one person is worth the world
and there are others that are only worth pennies
would you choose to save one over the majority?

a group of friends, all bound together by kind words and memories, how much is it worth?

thank you for supporting me for 100 chapters.
here's to 100 more.