I Had Always Wanted a Diamond

By Sally Meyer

Reprinted with permission; Copyright 1999

I had always wanted a diamond

something shiny,

beautiful,

I knew if people saw it, they would say

things like...

Oh, you must be so proud,

how many carats?

how wonderful,

how lucky you are to have

such a beautiful gem.

So I put in my order

like so many other mothers,

It didn't have to be too big

just perfect,

that was all,

I didn't want any little flaws,

no, that would not

be good,

I wanted to be like everyone else

having a sparkling little

gem to show the world.

Then I would belong.

When my package arrived

I opened it immediately

my heart pounded,

I wanted only to inspect it,

put it up to the sunlight,

show the world

how lucky, how beautiful

my little gem was.

But I held in my arms

a large rock,

much bigger than I thought,

and dull, grey and uninspiring.

I checked the address

on the package,

yes, it was my name,

this was mine,

but I had not ordered this!

I had ordered a little

sparkling diamond

not this old rock.

In fury, I tossed it

threw it across the room,

I was bewildered! How could

this happen to me

I hadn't expected this!

someone had made a mistake.

I went to the telephone

someone was going to pay!

life was so unfair sometimes.

As I went to the kitchen

to make my call,

I noticed my large rock...

It had split open

and inside this rock

were millions of sparkling

diamonds, twinkling

back at me,

I knelt down with tears

in my eyes, and

gathered up the pieces

of my geode.

Someone knew more than I,

what I needed,

I didn't need a little diamond

to hold up into the sunlight

I needed to learn that beauty

and love come from within.

It was meant that I

found out that

there is beauty all around

and this, my little gem

who came to me,

in a different package,

was beautiful, and that

he had come to the right address after all.