It can land in pockets or museums.
It’s not particular. Take a beating
by a smithy or sculptor in a whim,
or at the poker table. Competing
only with copper for loose change. Can play
the field, byproduct of copper, gold, lead,
or zinc refining. Holds title, you might say,
to silver lining. Ages well. That head
of Serapis at the Met, older than
Jesus by centuries. It stays with me
like memory of first love, like Roman
candles in night sky. More than reality.
When folks say it’s precious, I respond, “Of course.
It’s the name that masked cowboy chose for his horse.”
Roger Armbrust
August 12, 2020
