Time’s victim
An abraded headland
Jutting into the desert void
Exposed to the elements –
Sun bleached
Wind scarred
Sand blasted-
Lashed by acid rain.
Striated, stratified sandstone
Harder layers overlying soft
Friable rock disintegrating
Leaving fragile shadowed fins.
Winter’s ice freezes in the cracks
Expanding the joints
Forcing off the rock
Thin layers peeled away.
Peach-stoned exfoliating face cream does the same
To aged faces
Weathered, crinkled, lined,
Facing the storms of life.
Youth’s shining, glowing surface
Now pitted and blurred,
Harsh and dulled
Revealing the underlying character.
Weathering is time’s reward
Rough edges smoothed off
Rounded contours bending to the wind –
Skin and flesh peeled back
A skeleton face revealed,
Domed skull and deep hollowed eye sockets
Staring into space.
A reminder to explorers
We all end up like this.
c. Tim Taylor 2017