The First Person with Michael Judge

The First Person with Michael Judge

Share this post

The First Person with Michael Judge
The First Person with Michael Judge
The Shape of Stone
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

The Shape of Stone

A poem for America

Mar 08, 2025
∙ Paid
5

Share this post

The First Person with Michael Judge
The First Person with Michael Judge
The Shape of Stone
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
3
1
Share
The Shape of Stone 

A flock of strange birds bathe
in a patch of rain
above my neighbor’s roof.

We’ve never spoken.

The birds take turns piercing
the cloud. I don’t know
what you’d call them.

They’re small.
Sparrows, perhaps.

Some have landed to drink
from the water
that has settled here.

I lift a stone
and find beneath the stone
its shape in soil.

Having done nothing all day,
here is something
I can call work.

This hole, after all,
was not here until
I took the stone
from where it rested,

a cradle formed over years of sky
pressing down,
or something pulling from beneath.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The First Person with Michael Judge to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Michael Judge
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More