On Becoming Open

Staci R. Schoenfeld

for George Ella Lyon, stone giver

The stone in my hand
gathers heat from my body.

Glinting with promise,
gritty with truth, the stone

resembles an empty turtle’s
shell, sediment filling the holes

where life once flourished.
Come back. Please. Come back.

Blast out the shell of your home.
Make windows out of your walls.