Dropping a Stone into Water

Kitty Jospé

a swarm of ghosts gyred around…”1
and she asks, remember those circles once
the stone touches the water–
how they widen their gyre? 
I tell her she is the only one
I know who uses that word 
for spiral still.  

She turns to me and says,
each stone waits a turn
to create whirling vortices—
and drops another stone
into the water
to allow it
a place
to settle
                 with her memory
of where she found it. 

I used to think it was good
to hang on to memories,
she says, letting go  
of a beautifully flattened stone,
polished smooth by the sea.  

Now, I prefer the tiptoe 
of reflections in the water.