Water and Land

Water wins against land as does the wind.
Both are remorseless,
brute force
capsulated in time.

The land, we presume, is self sufficient.

Rock erodes to sand.
Even cliffs and mountains
wear down;
some still rise up.

Freeze and thaw gnaw at land.

I am forced in this life to remember
it's a hard cold life
that others
than myself have to deal with.

Man himself is a long drink of water,
in his water climbs
like water's victims to peaks
and is then brought low:

pride is an unreliable support,
as may be purpose,
and surely commitment to the land.

A dry wind blows
and soil gathers up and blows with it.

Man conforms his image to the land,
being borne by flood.
His soul trust like dust in the wind.