Furthering Farther

Walking along the shore that day
We saw the child squat
Amidst a mine of precious
Sanded stones
Fingers grasping
Beyond his small arm stretch
He captured a glowing gem
Thrusting it greedily
Into his clear glad bag
And the one next to that seemed just as fine
Wet backs polished by sun’s light
If not even more beautiful—
No single rock
Ignored, or cast aside;
He had struck gold
On this California outing
Not even halfway to the first
Lifeguard tower.

His mother and father paused
From a faster pace, looked back
Called him: Come on,
Let’s collect some more
There are lots of pretty shells
Farther down the beach
Look! Let’s go!
But the boy set his rump
And reaching out
Found what I could see—
Even from where we stood—
As he hurled his offering to the sea
It was the most shiniest rock
Around.

You don’t need to search too far down the shore, for everything you need is here in front of you.
As for word play: further—farther—now there is a rhyme to take up coffee time.
We carry things farther, look into things further. We may further our cause by use of gentle manner, but wonder if we can carry that burden any farther. CAR