Poem: Cliff

 

Cliff

 

weary basalt

hangs plump over the sea,

cubic honeycomb,

geological snakeskin

shedding shedding

but it takes millennia

to cry in relief.

 

not agile or bright

as ocean or sun

like prometheus pummeled

while water and heat look on

not at all awed

by the patience of a battered martyr.

 

humans

hike climb nibble swarm

take film, photos and selfies 

we make our chirr-word sounds

gone as quick as we generate

mere specks in the gale

of the erosion of the cliff’s dreams.

 

it cries for us

insular in empathy,

each teardrop a foamy splash,

tons and tons in our lifetimes,

but the sadness itself remains,

duly unremittent,

invincible.

=========================

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