{"id":331,"date":"2026-04-29T22:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T22:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/?page_id=331"},"modified":"2026-04-29T22:12:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T22:12:20","slug":"smooth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/poetry\/smooth\/","title":{"rendered":"Smooth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Devon Noland<\/span><\/h1>\n

I used to skip stones<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was younger and quite stupid<\/span><\/p>\n

Restless with the feeling<\/span><\/p>\n

With the calmness that overtook me<\/span><\/p>\n

Standing alone at the pond<\/span><\/p>\n

Alone all over again<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a ritual in it<\/span><\/p>\n

In the rhythmic bouncing of ripples<\/span><\/p>\n

Straight across the water, formerly smooth<\/span><\/p>\n

Until, in the end, I was unchanged<\/span><\/p>\n

Still just a child<\/span><\/p>\n

With the stones gathered in my hands<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But day to day it sits<\/span><\/p>\n

That old, beloved rock<\/span><\/p>\n

Weighing in my pocket<\/span><\/p>\n

And hiding in my head<\/span><\/p>\n

Much too light to feel<\/span><\/p>\n

Way too heavy to ignore<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So that on the muggiest of days<\/span><\/p>\n

When summer begins to wane<\/span><\/p>\n

But the heat in my face still lingers<\/span><\/p>\n

I settle my hand in there<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a brush over the soft edges<\/span><\/p>\n

With a desperate need to feel it<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All it does is rest there<\/span><\/p>\n

As it fits, just so, in my palm<\/span><\/p>\n

Familiar as it has always been<\/span><\/p>\n

I roll it over and over<\/span><\/p>\n

Between the grooves of my fingers<\/span><\/p>\n

Like I could ever forget its shape<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the stone only feels smoother than it ever had<\/span><\/p>\n

Worn and old from the movement<\/span><\/p>\n

And it stays there, right there, in the lining of my shorts<\/span><\/p>\n

As now I\u2019ve become much older<\/span><\/p>\n

So it must stay put aside<\/span><\/p>\n

To remain where it was, perfectly dry<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Devon Noland I used to skip stones When I was younger and quite stupid Restless with the feeling With the calmness that overtook me Standing alone at the pond Alone all over again \u00a0 There was a ritual in it In the rhythmic bouncing of ripples Straight across the water, formerly smooth Until, in the… <\/p>\n

Read more Smooth<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_theme","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-331","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331\/revisions\/332"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}