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The Chymick Stone
by JoSelle Vanderhooft
From igneous basalt,
proliferate, inconsequential
base element as any bit of earth
comes black ash and saltpeter;
from black ash and saltpeter
grey bones, long and straight as tapers,
burning at both ends with sulfurous light;
from grey bones,
white wings that sweep the alchemical darkness
in search of hungry air and so much sky;
from white wings,
something round and mantle-hot,
a flash of fire
through galaxy star-glisten,
brighter than the heart of a volcano
even, some folks whisper,
very like an egg before the center
breaks into morning.
From the chymick stone, a second stone,
not rock or ferrum, no, not even earth
but something brighter,
almost like the gold that flows through veins
igneous, basalt, proliferate
yet singing with the spheres.
Ossuary (Sam's Dot Publishing, 2007)