Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 20:03:42 -0500 From: Phanny Subject: SUB: CONTEST: A Proper Home A Proper Home A marble as a present? I savor its purple swirls set off by curling black streaks. Half hidden between those colored curves is a twisting spiral of pink covered by pastel lines. At its center is a dark blue stripe used to mark its winding path. It seems dizzy as it spins upon my desk. This rolling beauty has no decent place to rest. Dropped in my paper cube, it hides its indignation. Homeless inside mundane shelters, its glory almost lost, it mourns its grievous fate. Artists shape glass in many graceful forms. So at Christmastime another present comes, a basket whose sides and handles are clear with fluid glass. Green, pink, and blue seep up the flowing rim mingling with lines and swirls of white. Inside I place the waiting marble, Now dwelling in its proper home.