Ordinary Stone

Through a child's eyes

There’s nothing particularly original about marking and celebrating childhood innocence. We keep being drawn to it, however, because there’s nothing like the innate wonder of a child that makes each of them a natural philosopher. What would our world be like if we could recover even a fraction of that wonder for ourselves?

And why, in the name of all that’s holy, are there forces in the world that want to do violence to those who possess it?

Thank you for spending a moment here today.

Ordinary Stone

Funny how kids know 
what things are really worth—

Take my granddaughter 
stopping and stooping to pick

up an ordinary stone
lying in the backyard grass.

We adults just step over it,
but it catches her eye and she claims it for her own.

Smooth and rounded with a soft glow—
if you’re looking, you might see a similar sheen

on a mild night when watery clouds 
slip across a waxing moon.