121017d

The stones lie

The stones lie, naked,

spread wide in beds whose coverlets

are years. Sand lies with shale, shale with

lime, and many years later

gives birth to that which is dead.

ammonite, trilobite, placoderm,

they all live under glass

and fluorescent lights; fourth graders

escape No Child Left

Behind and leave their schools

behind and soon they grow,

leave their homes

behind, marry and leave their lives

behind where acids burn

their bones, but a few live again

under glass after sleeping with

sand, shale, and lime

for a few million years.