Poems by Norman Minnick
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Stones
by Norman Minnick
From Canary Spring 2012
Norman grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, situated between two plateaus, the karst plateau of Southern Indiana and the Bluegrass plateau of Kentucky. He misses the wide, muddy Ohio River; the lush, craggy landscape; the caves and natural springs; and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. He is currently surrounded by corn and soybean fields in flat central Indiana.
Stones we pulled from hard earth clay
because the good soil had been excavated
from this former corn and soybean field
then bagged and sold to owners of new homes
the construction company plans to build
in neat rows along a cul-de-sac
now line the edge of our garden and rest
peacefully like sleeping Buddhas or
tortoises sunning themselves among
sorrel and bindweed, timothy and pine mulch
showing their ancient mossy faces as they
gradually sink into the ungovernable earth.
© Norman Minnick