The Stone in the Lake

Oh I
Who felt the contractions
Of a world in birth
I carry the experience of aeons
The history of Earth

A solid from liquid
Carved and shattered
Cracks refilled by molten rock
Uplifted and fractured
Sundered and separated
Tumbled and rolled

Now here
Settled gently
On the shore
Of a still lake
On a quiet dawn
To marvel at the fleeting existence
Of the things that live
Even the tree

Seed
Seedling
Sapling
In so few centuries
Makes its bid for the sky
Withers
Dies
Falls
Becomes Earth again

Countless turns
Have I seen
From forest to desert
To ocean to ice
To forest again

A vast plane
Have I been
A mountain
A canyon
A river bed
A boulder
Tumbling down the river

All this
And now, a pedestal
For you
My friend
A place to sit
And watch the star
Which warms me
Rise

So
Live this infinitesimal moment
As if it were
Eternity