As I pondered the relationship and the difference between pebbles and sand I realised eventually, that sand is sand largely because of the kind of stone it comes from, and pebbles are from different stone. The colours in the marble at Mámara Beach were breathtaking, and then I remembered learning in sculpture class (in another century) the relationship between shells and limestone and marble. On my birthday, as I ponder my own origins and wonder what journey lies ahead, I’m still thinking about pebbles and sand and shells and bone.
Organic, Inorganic
Limestone comes from seashells!
And limestone becomes marble
And marble cool, translucent
Takes on organic form
A sculptor’s chisel, a sculptor’s rasp
Iron and stone and all of this can turn to grit
From stone to sand and back again
Our flesh and bone
To dust and grit
Not ashes and dust
All the grit from bone
Like shell, like sand
There’s carbon where you think it just can’t be
No carbon in water, but there’s carbon in me
Not as organic as we believe