Two Stones

Two Stones

On a shoreline
two solitary stones sat side by side
naturally, there were hundreds if not
thousands of other stones gathered
beside the two—

yet, together they gazed upon life
they shared very few words
they enjoyed basking in the sun—together
they savored the rains…being washed anew—together
they were comforted by winter’s white blanket—together
they laughed in the fog when they could not ‘see’ one another—
but, together they knew they were
side by side
never alone

Then one day—a storm raged
the waves pounded the shoreline
the pummeling crash of the ocean’s fierce breath
turned the tides—making loose one of the stones
and it was washed into the surf
carried by the waves sweeping in and out…

Gone…so it seemed—
the other stone now appeared lost
it felt the sun in a new way in the absence of
the Other
the rain now was like a tiny pool in the Other’s space
the snow fell cushioning extra layers
reminding the stone of the Other’s presence
and
when the fog rolled in the stone imagined the Other
and in the Other’s absence the stone knew
the Other near…nearer than ever

the Other was ‘transformed’ into ‘everything’
around, within and about the stone—
and its loneliness was no more