Split-Color Sequence Quilt / Creek Pebble Shelf A Tiny Dialogue Poem 248

Haylee: “We found the ending first.”
Callen: “A chorus with a space.”
Haylee: “But what belongs before it?”
Bentley listened from Callen’s steady hold.

Above ribbon meadow, Callen chose
the broad, careful way down.
Haylee chose a quicker path.
They did not form a line.

Callen kept both wings and full attention
supporting Bentley’s head, neck, and body.
Haylee carried the split-color quilt
to creek pebble shelf.

She placed four ordinary objects:
one smooth pebble, one soft cloth square,
one wooden ring, one dry seed pod—
not from smallest up to tall.

Haylee: “Which one feels calm?”
Callen: “The smooth pebble.”
Haylee: “Which one feels brave?”
Callen: “The wooden ring.”

Haylee: “Which one feels cozy?”
Callen: “The soft cloth.”
Haylee: “Which one feels curious?”
Bentley looked toward the quiet pod.

Haylee grouped calm beside cozy,
brave beside curious.
The groups followed feeling,
not height or width.

A fifth marker waited—blank,
extra to the four-object plan.
It became the optional Future Starter,
a role no one had at the beginning.

No newcomer appeared.
No one had to claim the role.
Haylee left the marker loose
beside the quilt’s open fold.

The split-color quilt showed the route
toward Cobb orchard press.
Callen carried Bentley securely.
Haylee gathered every object and marker.

A five-minute sprinkle dotted the quilt.
Mist lifted over the creek.
Barely moving air stayed still.
Bentley listened to the soft cloth brush.

At Cobb orchard press, Haylee laid
calm, cozy, brave, curious.
The loose Future Starter stayed open.
The ending finally found its beginning.

Soft, brave, calm, curious—
[one full beat of silence]
—rest.

Callen held Bentley through the quiet beat.
Haylee left the blank marker loose.
The chorus kept room
for an answer that might change.