Once I was
A mountain.
But lightning
Struck
Thunder roared
&
Rolled as I did
Down sheer
Cliff faces
Until I found rest
In the crook
Of my former shadow…
Where water trickled
Cool and soothing
Over newly
Exposed surfaces
The water
Always cool
Pushed me
Little by little
Until I found myself
Tumbling in a stream
That was sometimes
An unrelenting torrent
& other times
Dry as a bone
For months
& sometimes
Years where I baked
In the warmth
Of the sun…
There was an
Absurdity to call
Things
Months
Days
Years
Decades
Centuries
Were easier to
Count.
That is
Until recently.
A machine
With large
Metal teeth
Scraped me and
My fellows
Up into its
Gaping maw…
Another machine
Took us father
& faster
Than even tumbling
Through the stream,
Perhaps as fast
As that one time
I fell from the mountain.
Until it was so fast
& smooth
I couldn't even
Tell we were
Moving.
Then one by one
We were sorted
By machines
Smaller
Larger
Smoother
Until I found
Myself
Will those
So like myself
I was comforted
By the similarity…
Then one day
A soft fleshy
Pink human
Hand
Reached in
& pulled me
From my comfort,
My fellows
& placed
Me in a warm
Dark pocket.
The hand would
Reach into
The darkness
& rub me
Harder than
The water
With the warmth
Of spring suns…
& this other
Sensation
I cannot explain.
Then she
Pulled me from
Her pocket
And looked
At me.
All at once
I knew
What it was
Love.
She took
This long thin
Stick of plastic
And added
Eyes
Nose
& a smile.
I smiled
At her
She smiled
Back
& Kissed me.
Thousands of years
In a blink of an eye
And this one
Moment
Stretched out
As she loved me
Into an eternity
Of its own.
When she is sad
I feel it in her touch.
When she is happy
She pulls me out
Of her pocket
And kisses me.
When she is lonely
She puts me
On her computer
And talks to me
About her troubles.
When my features
Fade from her
Loving touch
She redraws
My face…
And centuries
Have slowed
To moments
That matter
With her
Attention on me.
She had a child
Of her own
And now
She doesn't
Have the time
Like she used to…
I sit in her jewelry box.
Sometimes she opens it
And smiles at me.
But her face has changed,
No longer pink
And smooth
But yellowing
And wrinkling.
But her eyes
Still sing of love
And fondness
For me.
And I return
To the dark.
I move in the dark.
I know not where.
The length of time
Before her returns.
Days
Months
Decades
Return…
I can hear
Things outside
Of my box.
Murmurs,
Music,
Tears,
Laughter.
Then silence again.
Today,
A little girl,
Opened my box.
She looked like
The one before,
Only younger,
And pink fleshy hands
Picked me up again
Time changed
Back into moments
& another woman
Told her
She could keep
Grandma's pet rock.
These seasons are not
Like the ones
Before,
But they
Have similarities.
I am simply happy
To feel that love
Again,
But even when
I don't have it
The memories
Keep me
Warm
Like the sun
Once used to.
