by Mel Murphy

Created on: March 06, 2011

The Rock

You found me
When I was alone
In a dark and gray place
Like a stone
Skipping across the water
only to sink to the bottom
of the dark and murky earth below

Like sunshine piercing through
With childs hands scraping the bottom
You chose me
Out of all the other rocks that beckoned for air

And I shined for you

Made pretty your lonely world
Where love abandoned
Your empty heart

And ugly words broke
Your innocence

Like a trophy you placed me
High on a shelf
To admire my jagged edges and smooth crevices

And I shined for you

You kept me hidden
Safely tucked in to your back pocket
Unwilling to share and embarrassed by
Your admiration for a rock

And I stayed there
Quietly waiting
For you to hold me again

And shine for you

You took me out sometimes
And dusted me off
But not too much
Afraid someone might notice me

Put me back on a shelf
But not the high one
So you could take a look at me
Now and then
And remember
When you found me

And still, I shined for you

You went fishing
Not looking for stones
But weaker creatures
That you could consume
And satisfy your hunger
Bringing home shards of their bones
In your belly

And then take me down from the shelf
And coddle me in your hands
Looking at me with guilty eyes
For visiting our water without me

And still, I shined

You chased after fortune
And competed with siblings and
Other former man child hands
To add new trophy's
To the shelf

While dander and mites and
Other living creatures took rest
Upon my unique form

Until I shined no more

And when you brought in your
New trophies
to place upon the shelf
You
Scooted me aside and pushed me
To the edge

Until I fell

You looked at me with tired eyes
And a weary back
From all your days fishing
In the water that once held me

Thought about picking me up
Washing me off
Sharing me with your world

But your right foot kicked me
as you bent forward
And so
You retreated and then
Kicked me more

And my brilliance was hidden

Until a flood came
And new water poured across the floor
And washed away the dirt and debris
That had taken over me

And when you saw me again
You were amazed
At the glitter and new places
That were revealed

The fresh water had cleansed my
jagged edges and smooth places

You thought
I had been destroyed

You forgot
I was a rock

And just when
You reached out to pick me up
Made space for me on your shelf

The man who came
To clean up your mess
Snatched me into the palm
Of His hands
And marveled at my beauty

Too ashamed to let him know
You like stones
You passed me off
As just a piece of your youth

You turned your back
And walked away
Believing I would be thrown
Into the garbage

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