Ode to a rock

Bethany J. Riddle

Too many to count.
So I don’t. 

One foot in front of the other, hiking boots crunching the tiny stones
as I walk along the well-worn path. 

Dappled sunlight seeps through towering trees – branches above –
casting glimmers all around.

I emerge from this canopy of trees, and
putting my hand in my pocket

a smooth round object rolls between my fingers,
most likely placed by my daughter, at a time when my attention
was pulled in a different direction. 

Her small hands gathering the pebbles and stones,
marbled treasures not to be left behind. 

The light catches flecks of gold within her braided hair,
a child who still lets me plait that which I also cannot count. 

A keeper of rocks, she sees something I don’t
in the ordinary sediment we dismiss beneath our shoes.

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Bethany J. Riddle
Bethany J. Riddle is a writer, poet, and educator living in the Pacific Northwest. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals including Amethyst Review, Macrame Literary Journal and is upcoming at The Prose Poem where two of her poems were shortlisted for the 2025 Spring Short Competition. She has an educational background in Journalism and Teaching, spending 10+ years in the classroom as an English and History teacher. She is currently working on her first book of poetry where she explores themes of childhood, parenting, aging, and spiritual speculation. You can find her at https://substack.com/@bethanyjriddle and Instagram @bethanyjriddle.