A Matter of Time

Land reaches out over Sea
Digs in wooden stilts
At the sun’s zenith, land creatures come
They stare out over Sea’s rippling crests
At her infinite vastness and abundance
She preens and sparkles under their gaze.

Then first chill, Sea turns to the Cliffs
They too have stood for millennia
But are no match for Sea and her secret weapon – Moon
Cliffs refuse to yield. Sea pushes harder
Land falls
It’s the way it’s always been

But Land now has their own secret weapon – Wall
Sea thrashes against wall
Wall grows higher. Sea laughs
‘Contain me? Bah.. impossible!
My ebb and flow transcends time
You’re only ever Temporary!’ she booms
Wall stands tall, smirks
‘But I’m different. I’m built to last.
Humans made me’

Sea sniggers
Admires her treasure trove
Nothing is lost, only reformed. Replenished
Reefs on shells, stone, iron, bone…
Wall challenges. ‘You won’t break through’

Boats appear along Sea’s brackish cousin
Sea laughs, strokes across rusted metal in her depths
Fish dart through seagrass and bladder wrack, riding the currents
Wall huffs. Turns his back. Sulks

Sea glitters and shimmers. Plunders from Cliffs
But Cliffs are watching. Cliffs know a secret
Buildings rise. Twisted streets. Bustling markets
Wall stands guard. Smirking

Sea angers. Waits for spring tide then unleashes her full fury
Stilts crumble. Sea grins
Throws everything at Wall
Wall looks on and laughs. I told you so

Sea retreats
Sea is in no hurry
At the base of Wall is a small crack
It’s just a matter of time…

I wrote this while playing around with ideas for a local writer / artist collaboration based in Teignmouth. It wasn’t right for the topic, but fun to write knowing nature will prevail.

Copyright © 2026 Lottie McKnight. All rights reserved.