They say the best rocks for tumbling are very hard.
I am not.
They say the best rocks are dense, without voids or pore spaces.
I always feel the void, some sort of void.
I don’t know it and it comes from the unknowable
and I try to fill it with grounding things, tangible things,
like rocks. Let’s not get started on my pores.
They say the best rocks are free of fractures.
This is because even tiny fractures
can cause the rock to break. Broken pieces
have sharp edges, which will scratch the other stones.
Some days I find it difficult to hold myself together.
To be fair, it’s not just me. They say most rocks will break in a tumbler.
You ought to discard the ones
with visible fractures. Or break them
preemptively. I’m not good at that.
It’s important to keep even broken things close.
I say we might as well keep tumbling. Spin and slip and show our flaws, let’s smash into each
other on purpose. Let’s scratch and grind and polish! It can take a long time to become polished.
But hey, a rock can stay in the tumbler anywhere from a week to two months. It just depends on
your patience.
