These mystical lyrics retell the biblical story of Ha_gar. "The Casting of Stones" She is raw, as if a great hand whittled her down to bone. She gleams beneath her eyes; she is full with the death of desire, with the absence of useless moons. She is the conundrum of what is filled, her emptiness beyond our ken; she holds nothing; her skin, a sieve. She is gone beyond us, where dust is water and water, sprinkling sand. We have walked with our sandals upon her; we have leaned into her void. We have called out her name in the desert; we have found twelve polished stones. Veronica Golos is director of poetry programs at the 14th Street Y.