another in P. series and this also concerns the stone.

From father to son, the gift of stone:

Geppetto formed my heart

from a stone

he found years before the log.

He slept with the stone

placed beneath his tongue,

at night

as his dreams stole upon him

like music and smells.

That stone soaked up his spittle,

vibrated

with each nightmare;

was warmed

by the morning light

that entered through the window

to redden his cheek

each new day.

During the hours when he worked,

or searched

for something to fill the emptiness

in his life

he kept the stone in a purse made

from doe skin

placed around his neck

with a thong made

from the gut of an old Tabby cat

and nestled beside the skin

beneath which his own heart

beat.

I became his child

the moment that heart

found its niche
inside my chest.