In twenty twenty-four an alloy sandwich

Stamped by an unrelenting hydraulic press

Became a coin worth twenty-five cents US.

On the obverse is the image of a slaveowner

And above his head is the curved word

L I B E R T Y

While on the reverse is a portrait

Of the Reverend Doctor Anna Pauline

“Pauli” Murray, Episcopal priest

And champion of civil rights.

Dr. Murray’s portrait fills the O

Of the word HOPE

Emblazoned on the coin.

Beneath her name

Is E PLURIBUS UNUM:

“From Many, One.”

Here are in both fact and metaphor

Two sides of the same coin

Minted in the United States of America.

Flip that coin.

Hope that the whirly gig you just gave it

Has it land on the awake, enlightened Tails

And not the asleep, entrenched Heads.

Flip it till it’s right!