BOWLFUL OF MARBLES

She keeps her emotions in a glass bowl

on the sill of a south-facing window.

You've seen all the colorful, perfect spheres,

some flecked with twisted ribbons

of green, red, gold, blue, intermingling hues

as the sun slowly passes.

Different sizes and styles:

the sly cat's eyes; the uncanny clears;

big, angry shooters; silly solids painted with daisies or dots;

the few shoulder-chipped strays

from old Chinese checkers.

Marbles collected game after game, year after year,

in a rounded container filled to the brim;

some buried by others,

less seen or less used;

all hard to crack but easily shattered.

You only wanted

one particular blue ribboned marble.

But you couldn't take it

without touching all the others.

Come: Dig your hand

and feel how the cool, smooth glass

tumbles round your fingers,

rolls off your knuckles,

clinks against the walls.

Feel the weight of the whole bowl.

Elisabeth Carter

WRITING PROMPT:

Describe a typical family dinner while you were growing up. Use all of your senses to describe the scene.