Every summer I gather a few stones from

the beach and keep them in a glass bowl.

Now and again I cover them with water,

and they drink. There’s no question about 

this; I put tinfoil over the bowl, tightly,

yet the water disappears. This doesn’t

mean we ever have a conversation, or that

they have the kind of feelings we do, yet

it might mean something.

Whatever the stones are, they don’t lie in the water

and no nothing.

Some of my friends refuse to believe it

happens, even though they’ve seen it. But

a few others -I’ve seen them walking down

the beach holding a few stones, and they

look at them rather more closely now.

Once in a while, I swear, I’ve even heard

one or two of them saying “hello.”

Which, I think, does no harm to anyone or

anything, does it?

Mary Oliver. USA (1935-2019)