At the time of her first homelessness ~ in her thirties, before the era of home computers ~ this poet lost 1500 pages of unpublished works, over 700 of which were Elizabethan sonnets, and only about 100 of which were recovered decades afterward, word for word, from memory.

This is one of those early sonnets.

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Recorded Reading (1:24): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bqqzgr9ylfdq77vkqe8s3/The-Stone-of-the-Philosophers.mp3?rlkey=fgkvtkkx1f0xpks2b0hovp4kh&st=3b265dio&dl=0

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The Stone of the Philosophers

What stone is it by which philosophers
Of hoary, ancient day were wont to muse?
That magic stone which every sage prefers
Accredited with qualities profuse?

A stone, they say, which every man possess
Yet which he everlastingly desire,
Which through the air may swift in flight progress
It gaineth energy when put to fire

A stone which cleanseth every property
‘Gainst which ’tis gently rubbed, excepting none,
Assistive in recovered energy
By which the weeping day may yet be won

By its caress, and the alchemic will,
Be calm and silent, be serene and still

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This poet presently lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code 72D-31S. It will take about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

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