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Gemstones

Dear ones, loved ones
near and far, long gone and newly born
of the ancients and from unknown tribes,
carried to me on prevailing winds,
or fished from distant seas,
it only matters that we met.

Dear ones, loved ones
fallen from the summer skies, mined from black caverns,
marked by the searing tip of a branding iron,
or soothed by the cool waters along the river bed,
it only matters that we met,

Dear ones, loved ones,
colliding with unseen forces and sustaining injury
whether in the meeting or in the parting of our two souls,
it only matters that we met,

Dear ones, loved ones,
as misaligned surfaces of two magnets connecting in defiance of physics,
with a bond that escapes human understanding,
it only matters that we met.

Dear ones, loved ones,
as lyrical murmurations above the wheat fields
having whirled, drifted and crested as dark clouds
only to be dispersed as black, tattered lace stretched east to west,
it only matters that we met.

We were meant to be.

Now you have your own rightful place as a single, magnificent stone
among these strands that cross my heart.

You are always with me.
At any moment I can touch you, hold you
and feel the timeless presence of us again, and be stronger for it.

At some point in the crossing of our paths,
I must have paused long enough to see only your truest self,
your perfect innocence … and nothing else.
In that sacred instant, coal became diamond,
joining you to me for all time.
It only matters that we met.

DOROTHY BURY SHAW © 2016
9" x 12"
Archival inks, watercolor and colored pencil on rag paper. 

To purchase the original art kindly contact the artist.
Also available in limited edition giclee prints.