It was a day when I worked
With my shirt off
Bent to the task
Concentrating on single stones
The depth, set, fit to the path
Brushing the grey, gritty soil
To fill in the gaps
Ancient fragments glinted
As I weighed up each stone in my palm
Myriad crystal particles
Formed over eons
Compacted, knocked, quarried, shaped
Travelled from where only heaven knows
To a simple pavé here
While the lizard watches
From a split in the wall
Ready to twist away
Hide somewhere dry within
Sounding a crisp trail
As it flicks through the dead ivy
The moment I straighten my back
.
CLP 05/12/2019
