Finding Your Stone (2005)
Olive Senior
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Links Off
Gardening in the Tropics
you never know what you’ll
turn up. Yesterday it was bones,
today: stones. Here’s one
that might be holy. To test,
tie white cotton thread
around it. Hold over a flame.
If the thread doesn’t burn
you’ve found it: a power stone.
Breathe lightly on it to confirm.
You see it sweating? Even the gods
perspire. Take your pierre home
and feed it. The heart gets weak
if the spirit is kept
too dry.
Poem © by Olive Senior, from Gardening in the Tropics (2005) published by Insomniac Press. With permission from the poet.