Why are some stones precious and others not?
Ask a four-year-old and they’ll pull you to the neighbors’ gravel path,
hold up a white lump, irregular in shape
this one must come home.
Then: an elongated gray pebble with a black scratch across it,
a light brown thing shaped like a smiling mouth,
a flat dark gray stone
they all must come home
to be displayed on the windowsill
next to the blue-edged feather of a woodpecker, a bead, and a marble.
Those who participate in Nick Steur’s Care to Carry, get to carry a stone on their heads. From 4 to 6 August, from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM, and on 7 and 8 August, from 09:00 AM to 1:00 PM, one can experience what it’s like to walk through the city with attention. Care to Carry is part of the La Strada festival in Graz, Austria.