Strong Shoulder of Rock,

never worn down, even after ages
of frenzied waves conjured
by life and its forces:
wind, swell, tectonic shifts,
a hundred million, million creatures,
the havoc they wreak –
so my own heart’s confusion
and questions hardly measure…

and still your strong shoulder receives it.
Crash after chaotic crash reduced
from fury and frustration
to drops and drivels
that slip back into a sea
still churning with trouble
but can’t ever conquer the rock
where you invite me to stand.

© 2018 – Laurel Archer

Photo credit: Laurel Archer – Tofino shoreline