We have all tried it! The wonder and the magic of being able to skim a stone across a smooth body of water has occupied many a summer hour. One, two, three skips or even four, make us feel like a champion. I was surprised to learn that there is indeed a World Championship for stone skimming! Take a moment to view a little of the video in the following linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlSAA7LRsrU Remember how we once upon a time tried to make a stone dance on water as far as possible. All this to introduce a poem by the Irish poet David Wheatley A Skimming Stone, Lough Bray
Lough Bray, Wicklow, Ireland.
If you look closely at the form of the poem, the words on the page mirror the skipping stone moving, dipping and moving onward, on and above the water! Enjoy the memory of skipping stones across water, pause and ponder because in our own lives there is similar movement, brushing across the surface, never falling below, dipping and rising again and again. Enjoy!
A Skimming Stone, Lough Bray for Justin Quinn
Skim a stone
across the lake surface
marrying water and air:
turn this brick
of earth, while it flies
from stone to living fire.
From stone to living
fire ablaze
on the lake’s faceted skin-
tideless, the plaything
of wind and rain,
as now of this skimmed stone.
Watch the stone brush
the water beneath it
and never fall below,
dip for an instant,
rise again
and glide like so, like so.
Hear it echo back
each new contact
brushing against the surface,
like a whip cracked
from shore to shore
of this walled-in, echoing place.
Skim a stone
across the lake surface
Never suspect it may fall–
as long as there’s water
left to walk on,
air for its echo to fill. David Wheatley (1970 – )
Prayer:
Holy God,
there are times when it seems
my prayers are like skimming stones,
some seem to sink quickly to a watery grave while
some seem to carry their message further
and further but still seem to stop short.
Lord God, rescue my prayers as you rescue my soul.
Come to my aid, restore my faith, revive my desire to
pray without ceasing. May my prayers “glide like so, like so”
May my actions be shaped by the very prayers I make, and
may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 
What a clever and descriptive poem! I’ve not heard the term “skimming”, as I’ve always referred to the fun pastime as “skipping” stones. Out of curiosity I’ve looked it up and have learned that skipping refers to the number of bounces while skimming refers to the distance the stone travels. Who knew!
After the winter thaw, the creeks near my grandparents’ farm would rise and widen enough to try our hands at skipping stones. The key was to find the perfect rocks for the task. My brother being a scientist since birth would look for the stone with the smoothest surfaces and thinnest depth, slightly convex if possible, explaining the physics of the task, while I would grab the closest stones and throw over and over, only to have them hit the water and sink. It would be many years before I learned that the right stone and a low sideways toss would do the trick.
I like the poem for its simplicity yet strong sense of purpose.
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