i’m not sure
if the story is true
or
just a dream
you must decide
but i recall
a dream stone
black as night
smoothed by hands
passing it on
from one generation
to the next
its weight grew
in proportion
to dreams held
as the story goes
an old man
a peace maker
whose beliefs
had been worn away
by promises
made
and
promises broken
wave upon wave
of disappointment
gave the stone
to a small frail child
and
the child
had
no difficulty
holding it
Read Between the Minds 
A lovely image, slp.
What a shame we don’t stay that way.
I wonder if you know the child, Charles.
wonderful images. thought provoking content…
And the child did know the mysteries of the universe in full.
a child’s heart is full of trust.
Love this, Charles!
As children we believe in dreams and magic; as older adults, sometimes we give ourselves permission to return to old dreams, or to dream new ones. In the interim there is, as you say, the “wave upon wave” of disappointment that comes with “beliefs… worn away by promises made and promises broken”, by societal mores, by pressure from others to fit in, by our own need to be loved or at least accepted, etc.
Blessed are those, like the old man, who pass on the gift rather than attempt to destroy it.
Finally the stone landed in best hands 🙂
This is an amazing tale. Really enjoyed it and its message.
nice imagery… i love words on the innocence of a child and dreams…
We have more wisdom as children then we do as adults. This is a wonderful poem, Charles.
Thanks for that interesting link on karma in the proposed Arizona state legislation. I read the legislation and some of the hype around it. It would seem on the survace to be an ignorant and uninformed reaction to Islam and “let’s just rope everything in while we’re at it.” I think it probably makes some sense in a certain way – if you can say that when something may well be rooted in ignorance and fear – It makes sense not to want to have religious law incorporated into securlar law. That should be a given, though, in this country. So why target specific religions? Xenophobia??? – Having said that, the actual legislation doesn’t seem site any specific religion.
And apparently some folks just don’t get it that the Christian equivalent of “karma” is “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.” If they did get that, they would understand “law” in the sense of karma, which would appear to be a religious universal and not only an Eastern concept. (Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps I haven’t read widely enough.)
Sad though: hope we are not all headed toward this extreme paranoia. I thought maybe recent events in Egypt might have inspired a bit more understanding of the political diversity within Islam and off-set some of the negativity created in the wake of 9/11. But, that’s just me. Thirteen states have introduced similar legislation:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/08/sharia-states/
In spite of all the wake-up calls we poem, I like to think we will indeed rise above all this.
As always thanks for the wisdom and beauty of your poems and your frequent visits and kind comments on my site.
Peace,
Jamie
P.S. – Here’s a link to the proposed bill. Reading it makes me wonder if there was a specific judicial incident that triggered it, but it probably is an unfounded fear.
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/hb2582p.htm
And, yes, I’m pretty boring. I do actually read legislation. Yuk!
P.S. – You don’t have to moderate this. It was just easier than opening my email. 🙂
very stunning imagery.
well done piece.
hope you well.
a child”s dreams can carry even the universe in his hands……really a lovely,beautiful poem……
Powerful, Charles! Down right powerful!
thank you,
Nancy
soul powerful…
thank you Charles
I always have a stone in my pocket. Nice poem!
and just what we should do — pass our dreams on to our children. Lovely imagery!