our life on the backs of state quarters

when my brother billy was 7 
& i was 10 
we spent a time living on the backs
of state quarters-- my brother
was the collector-- a binder set
to find all fifty states & his
only set back was a sister who
liked to swipe a few here & there
when her frog-shaped wallet
ran out of enough quarters
to buy cheese fries at the park's
snack shack-- everything changed
when one bored afternoon
billy reached into the quarter
from georgia & removed the silver
peach-- stared at it &
shared bite after bite
till we reached the metal pit--
billy put it in his pocket &
we scurried to the attic
where no adults would see
our discovery--
pulled the oak tree out
of connecticut & leaned up
against it's solid torso--
should we go inside?
he asked, holding up oregon--
the coin held 
the pristine pressed image of
a ridge of evergreens
over-looking crater lake--
so, as the rain raced down the windows
& thunder cracked 
like eggs on the corner
of our mother's metal baking
bowl
i lead the escape onto 
the backs of the quarters--
once we walked the parameter of 
the lake in oregon we
took a walk to the metallic 
glory of the grand canyon 
in arizona & snuck behind
the gigantic american bison 
in kansas--
we listened to the common
loon call from minnesota &
sliced off pieces
of cheese from the wheel
perched in wisconsin--
as the day began to close
& we watched the forth 
space shuttle launch over 
our heads from florida
billy asked me if we could spend
eternity on the back of the quarters--
pretend together that our would
was quiet & shiny & clean &
full of oak trees to sit
underneath--
i said that when it was nice
our the next day we would find a real
oak tree to sit beneath--
it wouldn't be a silver as
the pemaquid lighthouse
in maine or the magnolias 
we laid on in mississippi--
but it will be sturdy--
& we will flip a coin heads or
tails to see who will get
up & walk to the
snack shack to get
cheese fries--
i use the notched rim
to hoist myself from the
top branches of vermont's
two maples-- reach a hand to 
billy & pull him out
onto the attic floor--
the quarter lay scattered
as our journey--
billy stuck his hand back 
into georgia
to return the 
pit of the peach.