Round Stones And Square

[Stephen Whiteside]

Round Stones And Square

There are stones that are round. There are stones that are square
That haven’t experienced aeons of wear
In streams and in creeks, as the water flows past
Incredibly roughly and terribly fast.
For the water that buffets these parcels of rock
Shows no signs of mercy. It has none in stock,
As it pushes and prods, and it splashes and spills,
And subjects these lumps to a myriad ills,
Racing downhill through the long, lonely hours,
Fed by great snowstorms and sharp, sudden showers;
Now it is greater, and now it is less,
But ever, as ever, it makes a great mess
Of any sharp corners. It works for a curve
As it rushes and ripples with vigour and verve.
While the stones that are square, well, they simply lie there,
And you might perhaps think that they haven’t a care,
And you might well be right, but I’ll venture a doubt.
I think that they like being hammered about.
I think they are happy. I think they are pleased
To be pummelled and poked, to be tickled and teased.
It gives them a reason to get up each day,
To act as a toy in the current’s swift play.
They love a good massage. It tingles their nerves,
And they grow very fond of their newly formed curves.
Why, isn’t it true we all run into strife,
If we drift out too far from the mainstream of life?
In spite of the jolts and jerks and the shocks,
And the kicks and cuts and the bruises and knocks;
In spite of the setbacks, in spite of the hurt,
And some folk we meet being nasty or curt,
Though we like, on occasion, to drift and to dream,
We mostly enjoy being out in the stream.
So, if you should encounter a stone that is square,
Showing no signs of life, just lying still there,
Looking for all of the world like it’s dead,
Stranded, perhaps, on the dry, barren bed
Of a stream or a creek that but flows now and then,
Pray that the current starts flowing again;
That it flows and it flows till the ending of time,
Providing that rock with a sousing sublime,
So that one day that stone that you found on the ground
Will no longer be square, but quite polished and round.
Indeed, offer up prayers for ALL square stones you see
That they may be polished for eternity!

© Stephen Whiteside 25.03.2018

[Shelley Hansen]

Love the analogy, Stephen! Yes, we all need a bit of "sousing" to knock off those sharp corners!

Cheers
Shelley

[Stephen Whiteside]

Good word, huh?