Today, as we were driving to school, two of my granddaughters and I began composing a joint poem. I began with the first line, ” May each of us remove one stone,” and then the wrangling about what should follow began. Sami, who was serving as transcriber, finally became exasperated and wrote:
Every five seconds an editation
is leading me to great frustration.
I hope this will finally come to an end
and I can soon put down my pen.
We decided to invite you, the reader, to weigh in with your suggested follow-up to “May each of us remove one stone…” and see where that will take us. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
JDG
aholdingplace 
May each of us take one stone that is not love
Until love alone remains
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We (the girls and I) loved these suggestions for their depth, cleverness, and variety. Thank you.
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May each of us remove one stone
From the pile we keep for casting.
And feel how it could break a bone
And how the hurt would last.
And turning, see it is our own
To do with as we will.
And put it in a safer place.
Peace, be still.
Thank you all for the invitation.
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May each of us remove one stone, said Joan
And finally put down our damn smart phone.
To look around, breathe deeply and appreciate,
What God has given us in this imperfect landscape.
In the midst of our hectic and days filled with flurry,
We stop, take a breath, and slow down our hurry,
To love and risk being present in this day
So our hearts will be able to come out and play.
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May each of us
remove one stone
To sense its texture
with listening finger tips
May each of us
remove one stone
and know the message
that mute stone speaks.
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Joan: I love this beginning, it is very inspirational!
May each of us remove one stone
from the enemy’s hand,
from the angry one’s heart;
from the shoe of a walking friend or foe.
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