Anthropology of an American War Veteran
Stones, rocks, pebbles, too much of them
Languidly gnawing the seams of my pockets.
Fabric stitches demandingly unravel,
Obligating a choice.
My assemblage, enormous and diverse.
Kaleidoscopic, multicultural, contemporary.
Grey stones, brown pebbles, murky green rocks,
Muddy, freckled, textured.
Dull kitchen knives. An unforgiving butcher’s cleaver.
A few artifacts dulled over the years,
Worn down by the monotonous tick, tock. Erosion.
Nevertheless, beware,
For smoothed rocks still are dangerous
If manipulated by external forces.
A dormant volcano can erupt at any moment.
Many of the boulders in my pockets remain just as sharp
As the day they first were collected.
Violent weapons, red bubbles surfacing, dripping down my wrist,
Gory, vibrant, and beautiful.
They told me to let go.
Leave the past behind.
They said it was bad for my health,
Like whiskey, cholesterol, not flossing.
Then hurried me off to a shoebox full of drugs.
Little, balding mice wearing bleached white coats
Filling stupid tiny bottles
With stupid tiny pebbles
Which are too trivial, too feeble
To dull my exotic, brave minerals.
Malleable, unable to diminish my collection, dilute my culture.
Sure, the stones weigh down my pockets,
Heavier, perhaps, as I tread the path.
Burdensome only for the beginning.
I stopped noticing the weight of it after a while…
I am comfortable carrying the extra weight; familiar and safe.
Like a bear preparing for hibernation,
Who knows how long this winter will last?
But if you empty the jewels from my pockets,
I may just f l o a t away.
The law of gravity doesn’t account for the density of my rocks.
Fragments of identity
Embedded in those crystals.
The result is less whole than the sum of its parts.
For even if I could empty the stones from my pockets
Like the child’s scraped knees, playing tag on pavement,
My heart will forever be marked by imprints from the gravel.
Madelyn Teresa Robinson is a student at SUNY Geneseo, where she studies psychology and sociomedical sciences. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Tomorrow Mission, a project to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. Madelyn is also a photographer, athlete, and bookworm.