as if the stone has swallowed it...

Naomi Shihab Nye

Hidden


If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.

If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.

No one sees
the fuel that feeds you.

*

A poem about the connection, not easily recognized, and certainly not explained. It’s there. The silent, hidden way that presence comes to us, attends us, sometimes in dark ways, but gives direction.