Wishes in a Fountain

Down at the bottom of the fountain
Abraham Lincoln
Wishes for civility

He sees the kids push and shove
To throw their wishes in
And he, himself
Wishes they'd take turns
Form an orderly line
Tuck in their shirts
And speak up

More than anything, speak up

The boy with the black eye
Throws a nickel in
And asks for transparency

Although he's not sure
That's the correct word for it

He wants to walk through things
Instead of into them

His teachers at school even sent a social worker to his house
Disbelieving that any child could be so clumsy
But when his father answered the door in a wheelchair
The social worker pretended to be a traveling salesman
And after failing to sell the boy's father life insurance
Excused himself and threw the paperwork into the nearest trashcan

The boy with the black eye
Sort of wished he was being beaten up

That would be less embarrassing
Than the fact that he never notices tangible things
Until one of those things smacks him right in the eye

Another little boy wishes for a coat with buttons
Instead of a zipper

He has nightmares about zippers
Where his mother zips him up too fast
And slices his head right off

He yearns for one of those coats
With the big buttons
That look like smiling faces
Happy to keep you in your coat
Without threatening your life

A little girl roller skates by
And drops a quarter in the fountain
Leading Abraham to believe
That she must want something substantial

In fact, all she wants is a pet turtle
Because her birthday is coming up
And no matter how hard her mother tries
To figure out what it is she wants
The little roller skating girl refuses to tell her
Because she wants to be surprised

And so, she will receive eight dresses
Seventeen dolls
Three goldfish
And a kitten named Tugs
But she will not receive a turtle

The fountain does not feel bad about this
Nor does it refund her quarter

Because a coin in a fountain
Is merely a deposit

Determination is required
To complete any wishful transaction

And though Abraham can understand
Wanting to be surprised on one's birthday
He also believes that when turtles are involved
It's best to be direct

An old woman sits down at the fountain
And tosses a penny in
That lands right next to Abraham
And he likes having the company of himself
Even though it's an older penny
Without any of the shine

When the old woman wishes
For a little more sun that day
Abraham asks the fountain
To grant her wish

And so a little more sun comes out
And the girl on roller skates
Goes right by the pond
Where, in two months
She'll come across a little turtle
In need of a home

And in twenty years
The little boy afraid of zippers
Will grow up to design beautiful coats
With big, bold buttons

And in a hundred years
The little boy with the black eye
Will pass away quietly
In his bed

Only to find himself
As a little boy once again
Coming up out of the center
Of a wishing fountain

Throwing all the coins up in the air
Only to see them suspend there
Like floating rain

He'll walk through trees
And buildings
And memories

Still not sure of the correct word
For what it is
He wants