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Skiffing Stones in Ireland

The boy wades into the shallows, pants rolled to his knees,
the back of his body sculpted in light and shade.

In contrapposto, he calls across time, and I see
the Greek Discus Thrower, that ease and expertise.

With shoulders slanted to the universe, he twists
on his own axis, movement barely perceptible.

Only the voice of the skiffing stone, its ripples and eddies
across the surface of the River Liffey breaks the quiet,

but for now what moves me most is not his muscled beauty
or intense focus, but the knowing he holds within

to make a stone walk on water.

Bio: Mary Jo spent most of her life as a concert pianist and harpsichordist. She turned to poetry with the death of her grandson, as she wanted to find a way to give witness to his life. She has been published in various literary journals and has two books of poetry, Joy in the Morning and Gathering the Harvest. Visit maryjobalistreripoet.com.