The Rock

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This rock, too, was a word;
  A word of flame and force when that which hurled
  The stars into their places in the night
  First stirred.

  And, in the summer's heat,
  Lay not your hand on it, for while the iron hours beat
  Gray anvils in the sky, it glows again
  With unfulfilled desire.

  Touch it not; let it stand
  Ragged, forlorn, still looking at the land;
  The dry blue chaos of mountains in the distance,
  The slender blades of grass it shelters are
  Its own dark thoughts of what is near and far.
  Your thoughts are yours, too; naked let them stand.

© John Gould Fletcher