Stones on her path, always wanted to touch them
But always just wandering, running right past
Smooth, hard, she finally did it one day
Reached out with her fingers, velvet soft
And took for herself. Just this once.
She could throw it in the ocean
Skip it over the waves
Break the boundaries of endless waters
To watch it sink
To watch it fade
To watch another hope die
Why would she throw it
A child who is built to destroy
For a moment of splashing explosion
It was tempting
It was reckless
It would be gone in a second
But what would a stone do for her
Warming her palm, filling her fingers.
Capture her attention
Was it what now saved her?
A lucky charm
A serendipitous attraction
A smoothed stone, that she couldn’t throw
But she should
What’s the logic in keeping such a weight
Pulling at her pocket
Heavy in her grip
Memory and doubt
If not this one
She would carry another
So why not?
Cindy Koch 