These mystical lyrics retell the biblical story of Ha'gar.
"The Casting of Stones"
She is raw, as if a great hand whittled her down to bone.
She gleams beneath her eyes; she is full with the death of desire,
with the absence of useless moons. She is the conundrum
of what is filled, her emptiness beyond our ken; she holds
nothing; her skin, a sieve. She is gone beyond
us, where dust is water and water, sprinkling sand.
We have walked with our sandals upon her; we have leaned
into her void. We have called out her name
in the desert; we have found twelve polished stones.
Veronica Golos is director of poetry programs at the 14th Street Y.
