Maggie Sawkins

Under a Stone

Leaf,
you no longer know
what it means

 

to be a leaf under a stone.

 

You’ve got too used
to the cold slab weight of it.

 

Absence of light
has turned you
into a wafer of veins

 

a leafshadow.

 

One skipping day
a child will come
and kick away the stone.

 

For a moment
you will lie there,
afraid of your own lightness

 

afraid of what you’ve become,

 

dazed
by the suddenness
of a white winter sun.


Maggie Sawkins
“Under a Stone” first appeared in The Interpreter’s House, 2001.