Rocks, Rocks, Everywhere

Rocks, Rocks, Everywhere

Rocks, rocks, everywhere,
But not a stone to throw;
A dimpled pebble in my pocket,
A polished gem for show.

Rocks, rocks, everywhere,
Collided continents explode;
Nodules roll in on a riverbed,
A tree root holds a hollow geode.

Rocks, rocks, everywhere,
Water, land, and ore;
Clustered quartz and crystals,
Rough agates in banded form.

A thousand rocks are different,
And all the spaces in between;
Like the shapes in all our lifetimes—
Which includes just about everything.

I fix my eyes upon a rock,
In a rugged bed or furrowed field;
And with amazed consideration,
To admiration I must yield.

Composed on March 14, 2021—while pencil sketching a collection of rocks that I will eventually color with pencils. I began my rock collection when I was 5 years old. While playing a game of hide-and-seek, I discovered a Septarian Nodule under our family carport. When I proudly showed it to my father, he referred to it as a “mud ball.” I called it a “turtle rock” and sometimes a “dragon stone.” Years later, I learned its real name.