Every song that ever mattered in this world
Was written by the lonely girl
Who believed that faith, wit, and poise would push her far
If only…

She masked herself, frightened by her own reflection
She bashed herself to try and prove that she was worthy
the only way that she knew how.

“Spend a dime on me”
The words that crossed her lips were startling
But then a shadow’s path emerged.

“What?” The figure in the darkness let out a small grin. “Come again?”
This was a first. She had a voice. She was heard.
The girl stood up, awake.
“If you knew how long I have waited, if you understood”
He inched closer. “Try me.”

Disbelief overcame the girl.

“Spend a dime on me,” she repeated, but the shadow had vanished,
along with her quest for acceptance. She nearly drowned in despair.

Minutes droned on and hours passed.
He’s not who he said he was, the girl concluded.
But as much as her mind wanted to drag her feet home, something,
An invisible force, would not allow it.


She looked up in a daze. There was a pile on the ground beside her feet.
Dimes.