Alchemy Lesson

The secret? Yes, I know it well. I tell you that I've seen it done! Once, back when this cart was new, When a head of hair and I were one. I'd filled my cart with tawdry trash, And pretty works of paste and tin, Fobbed-off junk my folks had claimed, Contained a hidden wealth within. Baubles passed to me as gems. Brick-a-brack that filled my store. Artifacts which had no use, I tried to pawn for something more I met her in the marketplace. Something she saw caused her to stop. A girl as such I'd never dreamt! I smiled, hoping we'd make a swap. She turned o'er trinkets, each in turn, Rifled trifles through and through, She held my forgeries aloft, As many savvy shoppers do. I lost the will to haggle, then, As once or twice, Imet her eyes. My ugly wares did not belong, On honeyed skin a king would prize. She gently set each piece back down, As though they weren't all grossly fake. Then turned that flawless face toward mine; She'd settled on one thing to take. She kissed me once, and walked away. I tried to catch my racing heart, As all the market stood in awe, At all the gold that filled my cart.