Stones
by Gayle Nabrotzky
River rock — stones rolled in the water until smooth as cool skin. My hand reaches out to hold them, without thought. Some fit in my palm like the missing piece that fills the curve, their solid weight an assurance and solace. But I cannot keep all of them — only a few.
S
ince I moved to this river in the woods of the northwest, I’ve spent hours on its banks, wading and swimming in its glacially cold water and collecting certain stones that speak to my bones. Each of them has a circle… I bring them home like talismans. I hold them in my hand and feel my self slow down, my mind focus and sensitivity rise. All from a piece of schist with a quartzite vein running through it. Elemental magic. There is an ancient love of circularity, a yearning for the closed circle of protection. Countless forms in nature take the circle as their shape. Spiralling out, circling in. Life and growth are a constant reassessment of paths, changes and choices. The journey offers many exits, some of them unexpected, and it often takes us time to catch up. Body knowledge vs. brain knowledge. Keeping the two melded and whole is often difficult. The stones help me to remember. One day last summer, I went to the river with the dogs — a rare hot day when I needed the cooling water. As I walked over the pushed stones that form a sort of beach, I picked up stones that caught my eye. Some I’d lick, to see their color and pattern more clearly. I learned this from my Dad, who is a zoologist/geologist. Doing this also gives me the taste for different rocks - a whole other dimension. I was almost to the bend in the river where I strip down for the plunge when I saw it. An oval, grey stone with a perfect, unbroken, white circle edging it. I remember saying, “Ohhhhh”, aloud and feeling tears in my eyes. Why? I don’t know. They just came. I keep this one slightly separate from the others and every time I see it, pick it up, hold it… I feel as if I found a rare treasure. It is my heart stone. I will keep it safe, always.
Art by R. Daddario
28
Wisp e-zine
FEB.–MARCH 2009