Over the water it bobbed, the yellow stone,
Never stopping, never sinking, floating,
Hiding itself against the rich blue
My eyes followed it searching the depths,
Over head the bird laughed, skating higher
With one last look at the warm friendly waves I turned away
Walking over the warm carpet of sand I went, away,
Wishing to once again find a magical stone
Spotting another spot if butter in the sand I felt a new high
As I moved towards it I felt myself floating
Reaching into the sand I dug deeper
But as I finally got it in my grasp the pebble became cold and blue.
I stared at the rock, wishing away the blue,
But it was still there. I could not will it away,
I felt myself drop the stone, sinking deeper
Turning back to the waves I threw myself in, becoming the stone
Forgetting everything, I bobbed and floated
Turning my face upward I watched the clouds smile from their height
Further and further my body danced away from the shore pulling me higher
From a distance I heard the horn you blew,
But nothing could pull me back from the calm of floating
I heard you call again but this time you were further away
I felt around searching for the yellow stone.
It was lost like you were now and the pain was deep.
I began to fight, reaching for everything I had in my depth
But I could not bring myself back from this new high.
It was all gone, even the stone
I looked around, nothing, all there was, blue
I had gone away,
I had lost my life float
I felt something wrap around me, you became my float
I was felt myself claimed by its once again enjoying the rich shade of blue
I felt you pull me back, away from the sea, away.
Reaching the shore I smiled and said the only word that was needed, “Hi”
And you took me in your arms giving me warmth, I felt it deep,
You reached out your hand and I saw it, the glittering gold of the stone.
You smiled back, I reached for the stone, I felt the joy float over me.
I looked one last time at the blue ocean, wondering at it’s depth.
The gulls made one more circle high and you took my hand leading me away.
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2 comments:
This is beautiful, Anne! I especially like the line "wishing away the blue," for its double meaning: the narrator might be wishing away the water, the stone, or even the feeling of being "blue."
I also love "my body danced away from the shore." This image is so lyrical and beautiful which contrasts so well with the actual action taking place.
I'm curious, where did this poem come from, I mean, in terms of inspiration? I didn't really see it being connected to Farewell to Manzanar or any of the other pieces we have read in class. I'm just curious what prompted you to take on this persona in such an expressive way?
I guess I saw it as a dream she might have of the time they spent near the water before the camps also it is a sestina so the end just kin of happened to be honest. It started out though as her dreaming about her time spent before the war when her father was fishing.
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