Mother Earth sheds layers of sediment
Dirt falling off her as all around
The storms come in
Age once counted in geologic
Time becomes relative
Dust and clay and tar slide off
Until she emerges the girl she once was
Ready to dance again with the sky
As the waters rise
As the time for humans
Counts down, the life-clock
Shattering from the force of winds and waves
She feels a long-gone lightness return to her
As she ascends stairs, slick with the tears of
Lost creatures, but posing
No challenge for her
She hears the cries of the drowning
Feels a momentary pang
Lost potential is always disheartening
But something new will rise again
Not soon, but inevitably
In the meantime, she and her
Celestial consort have a waltz to resume

[In addition to being an avid reader, Gerri Leen’s passionate about horse racing, tea, and collecting encaustic art and raku pottery. She has stories and poems in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nature, Strange Horizons, Dark Matter and others, and has a poetry collection coming out from Trouble Department. She’s a member of SFWA and HWA — see more at gerrileen.com.]