Three Pebbles

By Mauri Yambo

I found three pebbles there,
When I was looking for one.
The one long lost to me.
There were many more besides...
And they found theirs – a billion
Pebbles more.

And then there were ten trillion,
Because the many pebbles multiplied.
There were ten trillion stars there –
I dare say ten times ten zillion –
When I was looking for one.
The one star which was three Ness.

And then I found three,
In the place of one.
There
I stood,
In empty wonder,
Amidst the one threeness.

In the soothing shade of a lone tree,
Which bears all knowledge. I stood,
For I know where the tree is,
And I shuddered at the thought:
Of the distance I will yet travel,
Of knowing that which I will never know,
Of the short rains which are no less heavy.
And then I found three.