by Cat Eye
From: The Pick and Dop Stick, 10/2013
4th Place — 2014 AFMS Jr. Poetry
Why would people study rocks, as if we really care?
Do we really need these rocks, it’s not like it’s air?
No one ever says to do, don’t is all you hear.
Don’t eat, break, throw, shake, and never stand too near.
So no feeling or holding them, then what do they do?
Can’t seem to find a purpose for these rocks, can you?
But then I think of all the things that we use each day,
And how removing rocks would be a large price to pay.
Without rocks, Michelangelo would have no fame,
And the majestic Mount Rushmore would be rather lame.
Without rocks, London town would be missing a Ben,
And there would be nothing to see on the River Seine.
Without rocks, Japanese gardens would be very bare,
And people needing glasses would just have to stare.
In blindness and silence, you could hear a pin fall,
But pins are made of metal, so there’d be none at all.
Without rocks, a bell ringer would have nothing to clang.
Without rocks, the Big Bang would just be a big bang,
Making ice and gas, but alas no rock to be
The building blocks of all the things that we can see
And hear, the silence without rocks would be deafening,
Which is why with voices we have now, clearly we sing,
And preach, and write, and read, and learn all that we can
About the stuff in our wall, in our floors, in our minds, in our earth, and in the heart of man
For permission to reprint this poem, contact us at info@chicagorocks.org.