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'Charlotte's Grace' by Adrian Caesar | States of Poetry ACT - Series One

by
States of Poetry ACT - Series One

'Charlotte's Grace' by Adrian Caesar | States of Poetry ACT - Series One

by
States of Poetry ACT - Series One

(For my grand-daughter)

Coming in with stones from the garden
your first impulse is to make them shine.
Washing rocks, you call it, and give them
full treatment, soap and flannel and rinse,
your three year old hands and eyes intent,
absorbed, and this not a one-off game;
it becomes a favourite as if
to establish your own ritual
you show the specimen to me gleaming
in your eyes and palm the offer of a gift;
I finger the treasure smooth and damp
and see how even grey can offer a gloss
on elemental wonder and variety;
though it dries back, the sheen gone,
stone and water and gift abide
suggesting through silent invention
sermon and parable: child's play.

Adrian Caesar

 

Recording ('Charlotte's Grace' begins at 1:58)