"And will you cut a stone for him,
To set above his head?
And will you cut a stone for him—
A stone for him?" she said.
Three days before, a splintered rock
Had struck her lover dead—
Had struck him in the quarry dead,
Where, careless of a warning call,
He loitered, while the shot was fired—
A lively stripling, brave and tall,
And sure of all his heart desired . . .
A flash, a shock,
A rumbling fall . . .
And, broken 'neath the broken rock,
A lifeless heap, with face of clay,
And still as any stone he lay,
With eyes that saw the end of all.
I went to break the news to her:
And I could hear my own heart beat
With dread of what my lips might say;
But some poor fool had sped before;
And, flinging wide her father's door,
Had blurted out the news to her,
Had struck her lover dead for her,
Had struck the girl's heart dead in her,
Had struck life, lifeless, at a word,
And dropped it at her feet:
Then hurried on his witless way,
Scarce knowing she had heard.
And when I came, she stood alone—
A woman, turned to stone:
And, though no word at all she said,
I knew that all was known.
Because her heart was dead,
She did not sigh nor moan.
His mother wept:
She could not weep.
Her lover slept:
She could not sleep.
Three days, three nights,
She did not stir:
Three days, three nights,
Were one to her,
Who never closed her eyes
From sunset to sunrise,
From dawn to evenfall—
Her tearless, staring eyes,
That, seeing naught, saw all.
The fourth night when I came from work,
I found her at my door.
"And will you cut a stone for him?"
She said: and spoke no more:
But followed me, as I went in,
And sank upon a chair;
And fixed her grey eyes on my face,
With still, unseeing stare.
And, as she waited patiently,
I could not bear to feel
Those still, grey eyes that followed me,
Those eyes that plucked the heart from me,
Those eyes that sucked the breath from me
And curdled the warm blood in me,
Those eyes that cut me to the bone,
And cut my marrow like cold steel.
And so I rose and sought a stone;
And cut it smooth and square:
And, as I worked, she sat and watched,
Beside me, in her chair.
Night after night, by candlelight,
I cut her lover's name:
Night after night, so still and white,
And like a ghost she came;
And sat beside me, in her chair,
And watched with eyes aflame.
She eyed each stroke,
And hardly stirred:
she never spoke
A single word:
And not a sound or murmur broke
The quiet, save the mallet stroke.
With still eyes ever on my hands,
With eyes that seemed to burn my hands,
My wincing, overwearied hands,
She watched, with bloodless lips apart,
And silent, indrawn breath:
And every stroke my chisel cut,
Death cut still deeper in her heart:
The two of us were chiselling,
Together, I and Death.
And when at length my job was done,
And I had laid the mallet by,
As if, at last, her peace were won,
She breathed his name, and, with a sigh,
Passed slowly through the open door:
And never crossed my threshold more.
Next night I laboured late, alone,
To cut her name upon the stone.
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Comments
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wish fulfilled
From guest pravinsinh parmar (contact)
57 years passed when I was a school sudent.My english teacer explained the trauma of the young woman who lost her lover and whole world with him.This poem was deeply rooted in my heart and i always wished to read it again and again but could not get it.fortunately i remembered the line"and will you cut a stone for him..."and,today my long charished wish fulfilled by internet.I feel as if i am in my school class room before my teacher and lost in the heart of the poetry. -
this is so special to my heart
From guest Julie (contact)
My father used to recite this to us when we were little children. We loved it as he did. Now he is gone, and we had to carve a stone for him. -
The Stone
From guest Helen (contact)
I read this poem in elementary school in a book of poems.. I was a young child and cried .. I am now a much older woman and still cry when I read it...I am so glad I found it here (actually a friend found it for me), have been searching for it for many years. This poem is a work of art..thank you for having it here. -
The Stone
From guest Helen (contact)
I read this poem in a book of poems we had in elementary school. I cried every time I read it..I was a young girl then...I am so glad I found it again. I still cry and now am an older woman..it is a beautiful and touching work of art. -
the stone
From guest Sarah (contact)
i've loved this poem since i first read it. i'm happy to find it again -
She was his girlfriend
From guest Kippy Smith (contact)
I did a report on this poem in High School, carried it with me for many years and have even talked to my kids about it. It is my all time favorite poem. The fascination I find with this poem isn't so much her deep love for her lover lost, but for the stone cutter who clearly is in love with her...feeling the greatest loss of all. He never got to tell her how he felt, never got to be there for her in her greif like he'd hoped to be... but in his love for her would make sure that he cut her name upon the stone as his final act of love for her as hers was for her lover. -
A truly wonderful piece of literature
From guest Lydia (contact)
I simply love this poem. In my English class, I was supposed to pick three poems out of the sixteen we studied and rank them. I ranked "The Stone" first it touched me the deepest. I couldn't stop thinking about it. -
Amazing
From guest Shannon Hyvarinen (contact)
I am a 33 year old woman. I read this poem in my junior year of high school. I tore it out of my english book and have had it with me ever since. It touched me deeply and I will cherish it forever! -
From guest Merissa (contact)
gibsons point of the poem is to show the emotional damage of losing a spouse... the widows husband was.. i believe.. shot... and she was left alone.. but she was dead inside and all she wanted was a gravestone to "set above his head"... and once her goal was complete.. she died so she could be with him again. i believe that this might be during some sort of war.. but im not sure. it is the most beautiful poem i have ever read and you can really connect with the characters and feel their pain. it is amazing!!! -
this poem really confused me albeit im only in ninth grade and i am memorizing this poem for a test and i really think it would help if someone could explain to me the point of this poem so that i can unlock the emotional depth described by those who have read it
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This was so very sad. I felt the sting of pain for the poor widowed girl but I felt it even more at the end when he carved the stone for her. This is one of the best darn poems i've ever read on this subject. Written absolutely wonderfullly and done with so much passion it can literally leave the reader in tears.
Avril
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amazing. honestly, my eyes got teary! this is by far The Best poem i have ever read!! honestly, had you posted it in a contest you would have definitley gotten first place. i absolutley loved it. i don't usually book mark poems, but this one, i have to! thanx for writing it...
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I love this poem it's got a great rhythm to it, great tone, the images are lovely, and the language is so smooth and still shocking. It's great!
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A very tragic tale, the use of strong emotional images really engrave the sorrow which each strike of the chisle.
Andrew -
I just picked this out at random and I am shocked at how this affected me. This is a wonderful, beautiful poem and one that I will return to often. So very very sad.
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excellent
This poem brings tears to my eyes because it talks of losing a love. This is true poetry. -
I can't believe nobody has commented on this piece. It is one of the most touching poems I have ever read. It hurts to read the ending. Wow...I never tire of this one.
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