Cornered by names and dates
Birthstone is granite,
Without ornament,
A fastness
Emptied of time,
But filled with hollow.
By custom, kill a ram
And spill its life
Over the foundation
In celebration,
Measure the shadow
Of a stranger
And bury it underneath
Like a soul.
By such adornment
Mark us present.
Inspired by dVerse Poetics: Birthstone
qbit 
An amazing non-poem!
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Hahaha! Thanks!
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My pleasure!
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“Measure the shadow
Of a stranger
And bury it underneath
Like a soul.”
Marvelous, Q.
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Thank you!!
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You are sly. The opening line resonates, but really like the allusions and ultimately the measuring of the shadow of a stranger. Spills quite well and conforms not; true to you.
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😃
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I opted not to write on that prompt because I dislike my birthstone; didn’t want to be cornered. Or, I was just lazy.
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This is just phenomenal in my book. Really. This is another that I could read over and over again. Qbit fan club!
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The feeling is mutual!
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Such a rebel. This is really a great poem. I second Pleasant’s call on those lines, too.
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Thanks! Much appreciated.
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Stunning! I suspect non-conformist blood run in your veins. You wouldn’t be a poet otherwise.
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Thank you!!
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A non prompt poem. You sir, wrote something magical and so my favorite poems of Monday. Packed with tons of visual lines that I relate and love. 🙂
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Thank you!
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You welcome, my friend. 🙂
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My favourite lines: “By custom, kill a ram
And spill its life”
A compelling piece, no doubt.
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Thank you!
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I wasn’t around that night. Did this get posted and un-posted? It’s brilliant… dark… and slightly devious in its unconventionality. It’s authentic q!
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Thanks! I didn’t link it before because it didn’t confom to the prompt. 😀 I was hoping you would see this at some point!
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I’m not into birthstones and birth signs. I’ve always said that I was conceived under this sign: “Please keep off the grass. Park closes at Sunset.” Birth rock… birthstone. Either way.
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Fantastic. You rock.
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I really like this- especially
Measure the shadow
Of a stranger
And bury it underneath
Like a soul.
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Thanks!
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For some reason the phrase “spit in the wind” comes to mind …
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An original description of a gravestone! I love the lines:
‘Measure the shadow
Of a stranger
And bury it underneath
Like a soul.’
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Thanks!
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There’s a chillingly pagan ring to this poem. Isn’t this what’s behind humanity?
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I think so!
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🙂
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It’s fascinating how you have gone from birthstone to death stone!
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Thank you!
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I would think it auspicious to be connected so closely to both birth and death. Almost as if they were one thing and you held it like a coin, or, a lucky stone.
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Yes, agreed.
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I appreciate the different direction that you took with the birthstone prompt and love your last two lines that tie it up perfectly.
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This is so very good… Maybe being alive between a birth stone and a head stone is being caught between a rock and hard place.
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Yes, and I saw that in your poem too! Great minds think alike.
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Actually I was inspired and evolved the idea a bit in my poem
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Cool!
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