Choosing a Stone

In the Salt Marsh: Poems (2004)

The tide pulls back, leaving its cargo of stoneson the broad counter of sand.A boy takes only black stones halved with a white thread,like a parcel too private to open.His mother gathers stones that mimic food:two quartz eggs and a granite potatoand a loaf of bread with a cold crust.This man hunts the white stonessmooth as unblemished fruitmade, he feels, for his hand alone.He picks one up, fingers a hairline crack,throws it back. This woman saves stoneson the verge of extinction. Thin as a catfs ear,they shine like coins rubbed facelessfor luck, for safe crossing.