Quarried from the earth and etched by its experience, a stone sits in my mouth. I sink my teeth into gritty insights, chew dusty knowledge, learn long-buried secrets.
“Spit that out!”
Mom doesn’t understand. Maybe she should taste the rock’s rough wisdom.
that cynking feeling 
Wow. Love your take on the prompt. “Rough wisdom,” brilliant! Btw, my mom never let me eat rocks either.
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Us moms are mean like that.
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Love it! I especially like you getting into Phillip’s head like that. Maybe us mean moms are missing out on true wisdom!
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I decided to answer my own question: why is he putting gravel in his mouth?!
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I wonder if it’s a boy thing…to chew on rocks? 😀 Well written.
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He was grabbing handfuls and dropping them in his mouth, so I’m guessing it was some kind of sensory seeking. I was afraid he would swallow some since it’s pea-sized.
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I remember my son grabbing handfuls of dirt. He kept shoving it in his mouth, I’d scrap it out, he’d make a disgusted face…and do it again. I think you’re right with the sensory seeking.
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Lol. Rocks are an aquire taste. I like the child’s placid determination!
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The child in this story was more sedate than the real child who inspired it.
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It’s part of the daily allowance of vitamins and minerals.
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Nonetheless, I’d rather he not swallow rocks.
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This is unique, rough wisdom and all. Great take!
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That’s the advantage of having a unique child – he inspires me to think differently.
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What I love about this is that you took me somewhere completely unexpected, based on the first few words.
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The timing was just right. I saw the prompt and then took my son outside to play.
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This makes me giggle a bit. I can see me all horrified demanding my kid spit it out NOW! LOL Cool take on the prompt.
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I’m thinking I could recycle this story for the new prompt: “what’s in it for me?” Whenever I ask my son, “what’s in your mouth?” he generously spits it out into my palm.
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Oh, yeah, rough wisdom! Perfect.
My eldest daughter used to put many odd things in her mouth. Snails. Shovelfuls of beach sand. *sigh*
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Yes, eating dirt at our old place was, unfortunately, the source of lead poisoning in my son. I know he craves the oral stimulation, but I sure worry about him.
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This is fantastic! I love that I am drawn to identify with the child, even though I am constantly saying, “What’s in your mouth? Give it to me.” (One of my daughters is a rock eater. Also a sand eater. Her twin sister is a leaf eater. I try to encourage leaf eating, but rocks are her favorite.)
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I decided to try to see it from his perspective.
My son also eats leaves. Actually, I think the only thing he won’t eat are a variety of fruits and vegetables.
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Love your words!
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I love that you took something from life and turned it around so adeptly. When I ask the prompt question in my mind and then read your response, it all works very well!
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Thank you.
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beautiful.
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Ooh, love this. I can taste it. 🙂
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That makes me happy to read. I worked on the details to try to capture the texture.
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Such an original idea. Love the ‘…teeth into gritty insights, chew dusty knowledge, learn long-buried secrets.’
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This is very creative and beautifully written.
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Thank you.
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