The Pebble and I

The Pebble and I 

Wandering on the shore of the uncertainty of life
Hearing echoes of the ghosts of doubts 
Trumpeting the marching of the greatest storm
Coming this way in a while to burst out
Its strength on my fortune, to destroy
The Shells I collected of happiness
And the sand-castle I made of endeavors

I stumbled upon a small pebble
Telling me its story of existing in worthlessness
And the million sand particles attached to its surface
Keep changing places with every gush of waves
Once was part of a great stone
A stone worshiped by millions of marchers
From the lands unknown to seek the blessings
This stone whose stories were part of a dozen epics

Then there were great tales of the anguish of nature
And the thunder of winds and tempest of seas
Making and breaking of new disasters and intend
Where life sprang out eventually from every spur
The dwarfs grown to giants and giants to meaningless columns
And there emerged a new beginning after every atrocious end
The pebble and I and our whole surroundings happen to blend
In the tempest the rage, and anguish of fate unconcerned
The soul of sea embraced us with grace
The pebble and I dissolved in an unvanquished oblivion

Annie Ali

Painting By Olga Minardo