The Amethyst Mine

Shahrzad Taavoni

I was a salty lake

where my tears came from.

For years,

drop by drop 

I leaked my sorrows and longing

until my lake completely dried up. 

    Suddenly, I gazed at its underbelly—

          saw that it had become a quarry 

                rich with purple amethyst glistening, 

                         reflecting the glitter from the sky. 

                               The sounds of my crying 

                                      that the lakebed absorbed, 

                                                            inverted. 

                                                        I laughed 

                                      as the mine became 

                                   an amphitheater 

                               that echoed 

                         and amplified 

                    my jubilation.