Here is a small bowl made of clay,
with a long crack down one side.
It holds eight smooth stones,
named for the facets of the moon.
It once held sandalwood and sand
ground fine by water and by salt,
in time ground fine by the spinning Earth.
The stone named Sleep is black
and veined to mock the stone named Death.
The stone named Death is white as pearl
and flat. It bends the light.
The stone named Love is pale blue
and marbled like a cloudy day.
The crack is named for Time.
In time, the bowl will come apart
and like the facets of the moon, go shining.
Naming Stones by J. Kyle Kimberlin is licensed
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NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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