Poem: Cliff

 

Cliff

 

weary basalt

hangs plump over sea,

cubic honeycomb,

geological snakeskin

shedding shedding

so many millennia

to cry in relief.

 

not agile or bright

as ocean or sun,

a prometheus pummeled

while water and heat look on

not at all awed

by the patience of this battered martyr.

 

we humans

hike climb swim swarm

chat photo film selfie feast  

chirr-chirr-chirring our trill-word sounds,

gone so quick, quick as we generate,

mere specks to the gales 

of erosion of the cliff’s dreams.

 

maybe it cries for us

insular in unheard empathy,

each tear a foamy splash,

tons and tons of tears in a lifetime,

so much heaviness,  

but still the sadness remains,

duly unremittent, justice-bound,

invincible.

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7/20/25 ... eds 

10/10 mod

10/7/24 fixed typo

9/20/24 eds 

Entities with empathy on this planet are often surrounded by a lack of empathy.