Feeling the Stone

author’s note:

“Turn!  Turn!  Turn!”
        -- Pete Seeger (via Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)


FEELING THE STONE

As a child
when my vexed head began to spin
I was told:

“Don’t worry:
 you’re merely feeling the rotation
 of a giant stone that turns beneath our world.”

I was told:
“Without its strong foundation
 we’d all fall down
 through the dark void of space.”

Desperate for stability
I decided to believe in the stone
but

as an adult I began to doubt
as I witnessed
buildings toppling--crumbling
from mounting forces of stress
as our world speeded up.

To those who still believed
in the power of the stone
I said:
“If that thing truly exists
 it must want to destroy us.”

As I lost my belief
I lost my equilibrium again

and as I felt myself falling
I hunkered down deep
to protect myself from total collapse

but down within I found quiet
and in that stillness, I could feel
a millstone
going round and round.

But though it spun
that big rock provided
a foundation for me
as I built back my strength.
Even so, I told the stone:
“I’d feel a lot more stable
 if you’d just stop turning.”

To that complaint
I swear I heard a silent whisper say:
I’m working to help you all.
Do you really want to remain
so fragile?
Do you really want to stay
so small?

mythsteps · Feeling the Stone

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