Friday, February 15, 2008

Notebook Idea - 777 - Day 4

Here's the 4th of the 7 'seven-minute-writing-prompts':

February 15th: stones

1 comment:

Mary Rose said...

February 15th. Stones.

You stop in the street,
take off your shoe,
remove the small offender
that had slipped in slyly,
caused such discomfort.

As a child, you ran across the beach,
holding your sister’s hand,
soles hardened,
impervious to the hard pebbles
beneath them.

Later, on that same beach,
with practised skill, you search
for flat ones, make them skim
across the water, in contest,
counting as they skip lightly.

You place your home-made jam
on the table, feel impelled to warn
‘look out for stones,
it’s difficult to spot them all.’

The children, playing ‘Tinker, Tailor’
place them on the edge of plates,
the more you’ve left the better
they are pleased.

Loose stone walls that level and landscape
our piece of ground remain a tribute
to his many skills, each heavy piece dug
from the ragstone seam running deep
across the garden. A Memorial to him.