Life’span

Just three golden specks –

Captive in a clear vial –

That, plus a little creek water, is all, after

A dozen-plus shovelfuls of

Coker Creek stream bed,

Three hours of

Swishy-swirls,

Big rock tosses,

Brown sand refusal and

Black sand backwashes.

Pure gold,

Almost 24K, barely visible and

Infinitely rewarding –

A tiny reminder that

Treasure really is

Out there,
Small, but valuable,

Under layers of distracting dirt,

Past painstaking work and

Slow, careful sifting,

It waits for the patient;

It is saved for the persistent.

At the bottom of a life’span is the

Rare and real and wonderful –

No mistaking that stuff -

It’s all that lasts.

It’s all that matters.

You’ll know gold when you see it.