5 Significant Poems about Stones

Poems about stones evoke the timeless presence of these ancient entities, exploring their enduring strength and stability.

These verses may contemplate the significance of stones as symbols of permanence, representing the passage of time and the weight of history.

Poets often use stones as metaphors for resilience, drawing parallels between rocks’ unyielding nature and the human spirit’s steadfastness. These poems may also delve into the diverse forms of natural stones, from river pebbles to majestic mountains, celebrating the beauty and diversity of the Earth’s geological wonders.

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Breaking the Surface

by Jean Bleakney

‘Breaking the Surface’ by Jean Bleakney is about the “art of skimming,” an extended metaphor for the art of writing poetry.

Stones are central to the poem, representing both the literal activity and symbolic elements. The speaker carefully selects the right stones for skipping. Each stone's journey across the water mirrors life's challenges and successes. The poem uses stones to explore deeper meanings. It shows how something simple can hold great significance.

I have gone beyond the childish delight

of plumping the heaviest stone

into the shallows, and yet,

distance throwing has defeated me.

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Pleasures

by Denise Levertov

Denise Levertov’s ‘Pleasures’ celebrates the beauty hidden within everyday objects, inviting readers to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Regarding the topic of stones, the poem deals with it by describing the seed in the fruit as a "stone of wood." The choice of words and imagery portrays the stone as a solid and enduring object. The poem celebrates the beauty and significance of the stone, acknowledging its role as a natural element that contributes to the overall richness and complexity of the world.

I like to find

what's not found

at once, but lies

within something of another nature,

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Song of the Chattahoochee

by Sidney Lanier

‘Song of the Chattahoochee’ is a 19th century American poem that takes the perspective of the Chattahoochee river as it flows from northern Georgia to the sea.

While stones and gems are not a major focus, they are beautifully incorporated into the narrative, symbolizing both obstacles and beauties the river encounters. Their mention enriches the text, adding a layer of allure and challenge to the river's journey.

Out of the hills of Habersham,

Down the valleys of Hall,

I hurry amain to reach the plain,

Run the rapid and leap the fall,

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Hearthstone

by Gillian Clarke

‘Hearthstone’ muses over the literal and symbolic weight of a slab of slate that the speaker intends to install in their home.

The stone in Clarke's poem represents an enduring, timeless aspect of nature, one owed to its formation over countless years. Yet it also contains traces of natural history and geological imprints that have been pressed into the stone, not unlike the speaker's attempts to transfer a design onto the rock. In this way, it becomes more than just an object of utility or decoration and instead carries the essence of the earth’s slow and patient work.

Lifting the slab takes our breath away

Corner to edge, edge to corner.

Its weight steps the plank

shifting from foot to foot.

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Blaen Cwrt

by Gillian Clarke

‘Blaen Cwrt,’ a poem by Welsh poet Gillian Clarke depicts the pleasant dwelling of the speaker in rural Ceredigion, West Wales.

You ask how it is. I will tell you.

There is no glass. The air spins in

The stone rectangle. We warm our hands

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5 Significant Poems about Stones

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5 Significant Poems about Stones

Breaking the Surface

by Jean Bleakney

Pleasures

by Denise Levertov

Song of the Chattahoochee

by Sidney Lanier

Hearthstone

by Gillian Clarke

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