Ben Franklin’s Copper Fugio Cent
Designed by Benjamin Franklin, the copper Fugio coin
was the first coin circulated in the new United States.
On one side of the first coin minted in
the new United States you see a sun
dial—not a king or queen or anyone—
and embossed words that urge us to begin
to use time wisely, words we cannot spin
in any other way: “Fugio” is one,
and “Mind Your Business”—apt advice homespun
by Benjamin Franklin, who designed this thin
coin made of copper. On the other side
are thirteen interlocking rings that stand
not only for the states, but Franklin’s list
of character-building virtues that, if tried
by each of us, would help to make this land
a Godly nation that would long persist.
Geoffrey Smagacz writes mostly from Mexico. His rhymed and metered poetry has been published in various literary magazines and e-zines, including 14 by 14 and Dappled Things. His murder mystery, Reportedly Murdered (Wipf and Stock), is now available through online venues. A collection of his fiction, published under the title of A Waste of Shame and Other Sad Tales of the Appalachian Foothills (Wiseblood Books, 2013), won the 2014 Independent Publisher gold medal for Best Mid-Atlantic Regional Fiction.
Geoffrey, I really liked the historical feature of your poem. Amazingly you wrote the sonnet with two sentences only. You still maintained a rhythm and rhyme in your run-in lines.