Making Art with Beach Stones
My home hums with them–—
the smooth and rough,
pale and dark,
striped, speckled,
some with lines,
or bits of mica
mesmerizing the light.
They number
in the thousands by now,
populating table
and bins and buckets,
lining mantels and
perched on shelves,
all holding the sea,
having chosen to be plucked,
over years,
from their temporary,
sandy homes on beaches,
Massachusetts mostly,
with a Rhode Island minority,
a Florida few.
They called to me as I strolled,
or else I spied them first—
glimmering with sea water
having just rolled in
with latest tide,
or perhaps half buried
among their brethren,
co-habitating peacefully
in their transient villages
along a shore dotted
with shells broken and whole;
scallop and clam, oyster
and the thin,
pale yellow jingle shells,
the occasional smooth sea glass,
strewn with the crunchy brown or
slippery green salty seaweeds,
among seagull leavings
and the remnants
of humans at rest and at play—
and I asked the stones permission,
waited for yes,
cradled them
with my work worn hands,
guided them
into my cloth bag or
scratched bucket.
My home hums, perhaps
three thousand stones,
alive
as you or I,
just vibrating slower,
and they answer
as I approach, as I
hold, inquire
with loving intention,
as I invite them into art forms,
cairns,
ancient and new,
stacks and lean-tos,
bridges and
little families
all supporting one another.
We try one side, then another,
collaborate to find
balance
and then,
then we pause
breathe
feel,
and I wait for their final yes
or not this one, not now.
Together we make magic,
my humble hands
aligning each stone,
knowing
with all my six senses,
when I hear
yes. Right there.
We are perfection now.
-Melinda Coppola
