Down By the Sea

Margaret V.Doran

Down by the sea I wandered
     in and out of surf
     watching the small stones rolling
     up and down with the waves
     a timeless dance
     of water caressing substance; conforming it
     to a preordained standard

Down by the sea I wandered
     plucking stones
     when they caught my fancy
     lovely hues and patterns
     each its own gem
     with edges smooth and round
     between my probing fingers

Down by the sea I wandered
     filling my pockets
     with small, satinesque pebbles
     works of art mastered over
     eons of time
     tumbling in the tides
     of creation

Down by the sea I wandered
     and saw there an anomaly
     a rock, solid and square
     washed by the waves with its cousins
     yet unconformed
     and I was loath to grasp it as it lay
     in the foam

Down by the sea I wandered
     and marveled at this miracle rock.
     Where did it come from to bear
     not a mark of its harsh journeys
     nor a scratch from the depths
     unscathed and whole
     as if just cleaved

Down by the sea I wandered
     and all of my attention was arrested
     by the solitary rock.
     I nudged it gently with my sand-covered toe
     and though unique, left it there because
     time and the sea
     were not done with it yet.

Copyright © 1997 Margaret V. Doran. All rights reserved.

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Updated July 1, 1999
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