A Coin
A Coin - meaning Summary
Memory on a Coin
The poem reflects on how a coin carries images of a vanished American West into the present. Sandburg notes the buffalo and Native figure cast on the nickel as faded partners of a landscape gone. Those who come after recognize these depictions as emblematic of a lost past and offer a muted salute. The closing lines frame the figures as runners saying goodbye across the prairie.
Read Complete AnalysesYour western heads here cast on money, You are the two that fade away together, Partners in the mist. Lunging buffalo shoulder, Lean Indian face, We who come after where you are gone Salute your forms on the new nickel. You are To us: The past. Runners On the prairie: Good-by.
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