Smoothing the Stone

Jaime An Lim

The light sleeps under the skin
of the river stone.
What brings out the fire in the feldspar
the tiger in the agate
the rose in the quartz
is the persistence of desire.
The intractable will of light invisible things!
Wind and water, for instance, which seem
to bend break dissipate in themselves
only to return again and wage again their gentle
assault on the kingdom of the hard and the dark.
The light may yet inherit the earth.

Observe:
how prayers hollow the hardwood pew to a holy glow
how the roothairs open the blind rock
how the rainwater sets and alters at will
the folds in the raiment the granite mountain wears
how the wind leaves the shape of its faithful passage
on rounded shoulders of century trees.

So will water-hands smooth these raw stones
and wind-fingers sift these rough words
smoothing and sifting
sifting and smoothing
endlessly

till they shine.