On a rough shell covered with craters and cracks,
wrinkles and warts show signs of old age.
The underside clean, smooth,
reveals the beauty that once was.
Like the ruins of an ancient civilization.
Only traces of its true elegance remain.
Pieces of its powerful past lay buried beneath the ground.
Waiting to be discovered, their exquisiteness will tarnish.

Someday,
not far from now,
weather will wear on the ones who care for me most.
Their satiny skin filled with color will fade.

Someday,
they will lose their youth,
become rough shells.
The sea’s foamy fingertips will pull them away.
Emptiness will fill my soul.
I will search for their guidance and protection,
but get lost in the vast sea.

Someday,
fragments of their brilliant past will wash to shore
and when those memories emerge, my loneliness will dwindle.