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Deep beneath the solid pavement, sense this spinning ball of stone.
From the spine of distant mountains, hear the silent call of stone.
Somewhere past Orion's belt, across the corner of the eye,
Out of nothing into darkness, burns the briefest fall of stone.
Is winter coming to a close? Walk the fallow, frost-heaved fields —
This heart where scattered shards lie broken. Build up the crumbling wall of stone.
Take one pebble, round and flat, skip it on the silver river.
See how many ripples echo, echo from so small a stone.
Well for water, hearth for flame, arch for passage, slate for name.
Lantern light on grave and bone: a sacred circle, all of stone.
Camellia petals at her feet, a Jenny-wren's nest in her hair,
Who watches from the wildwood's edge, with heart of magma, shawl of stone?
Yapese money's made of stone.
On whose neck hangs a millstone?
The lady ignores its price in blood —
the diamond is something she must own.
"Don't rock the boat!" the sailors cried
when he climbed in, all twenty stone.
From Pulpit Rock, Williams warned
of hellish fire and brimstone.
Rock was born when Jagger, Jones,
and Richards became Rolling Stones?
Grampa sat in his rocker, grabbed
a six pack and soon was stoned.
The Rock the builders threw away
became the building's cornerstone.
The mob bent low to pick up cobbles;
their murmurs had an ominous tone.
Although not carved in granite, Bill
hopes his ghazal is passed on.
I ramble 'round Lahore, reading history in magnificent stone,
every mystic, scholar, army testing strength against resilient stone.
The mosques echo with verses, the bazaars clamor with curses,
the sacred and profane mingle in houses of ebullient stone
Outside the Emperor's mosque lies the temple of the Guru,
the soul of Punjab hemmed in by the weight of silent stone.
The parks and gardens contrast with the desert breeze,
tent cities oozing between houses of elegant stone.
Every preacher and reformer shames the city with its sins,
their voices bounce unheard from the permanent stone.
This modern medieval city beggars language to describe,
yet Bu Mahmoud spies its heart of unrepentant stone.
Most people end up with a heart of stone,
Except sculptors who learn the art of stone.
Every morning I shop for family meals,
Pushing, like Sisyphus, my cart of stone.
Michelangelo’s David is perfect,
But, like most men, he has a heart of stone.
All that’s left of Alabaster flowers
I once gave her is this red shard of stone.
Lot’s wife, who lusted for one quick look back,
Got what she had coming (that tart of stone!).
Pink Floyd sang, “Shine on you crazy diamonds.”
Rock makes precocious rich kids part of stone.
I’ve heard beggars cut limbs off their kids. Still,
I give change. I don’t have a heart of stone.
The town of Springfield should build Mount Simpsons:
A “Marge,” “Homer,” “Lisa,” and “Bart” of stone.
“Shoppers, Roger’s soul’s on sale in aisle 4.”
Is there anything Wal-Mart doesn’t own?
In a ruined castle of ancient stone
stand twenty white lions sculpted in stone
the name of her lover lost to her view
by lichen grown dark across his gravestone
deep in the darkness of a silent cave
a lantern shows hieroglyphs scratched on stone
the rugged north country lies under mist
and the fields are criss crossed with walls of stone
the people walk across miles of moorland
to stand in awe at the circle of stones
resolution is down by the river
secret in blue on the braille patterned stones
her heart is heavy as she writes these words
the poet wonders if she is made of stone
I asked to be another Michelangelo of stone.
Instead, I was called to translate the yes and no of stone.
Don't think this business of being called can't happen to you.
The invite isn't sent via an arrow of stone.
Drink spring water until you can taste the truth again.
Why not give up the role of Pinocchio in stone?
Fed solely on feathers and foam, dreams lose their appetite.
Restore balance. Once a week sleep on a pillow of stone.
Gravity is an ally. Use it to advantage.
It's too exhausting to play with a yoyo of stone.
Chisel and mallet are as familiar as salt and pepper.
But their passion can overcome the status quo of stone.
I built a garden wall as soulful as the Taj Mahal.
Well, damn, it was my best try given what I know of stone.
"Too long a sacrifice," Yeats said, "can make a stone of the heart."
My intent? Bring heart even to a gazebo of stone.
The couplets of this ghazal are sprouting like mung beans.
Thank God, I don't have to inscribe this manifesto in stone.