SMOOTH STONE

There are many ways to kill a giant.
I’ll bring a stone.
You can take it out of the water,
polished,
struggling for nothing,
the pulse of it weighing
strong and smooth and steady
in your hand
for a lifetime –
every glittering piece of sun inside it
gathering such intensity and force –
before sailing,
completely empty,
completely void of any lingering doubt or hesitation,
clean into the heart of the deep blue myth.


This poem appears in Border Crossing, vol. 2 (Fall 2012) and was nominated for a 2012 Pushcart prize in poetry.

Reprinted in Pilgrimage Magazine, vol. 41, issue 2 and Tipton Poetry Journal, issue 49 (Summer 2021).


Poem and image by Sarah Rehfeldt. Please do not copy without my permission.