The waves

I watched the waves
pummel the shoreline
endlessly
a pull and tug with the moon
as the sun
lowered in the sky

The water glistened like gold
shimmering in the setting simmer
seeming solemn at a great distance while
thundering against the rocky shore
with frenetic determination

The rocks held sway in the battle
holding sand in place
but they were weather beaten
bruised
thin wisps of matter
holding onto a promise of tomorrow

I watched the waves
as one such precipice
singular in its layer of lava
a breath's thickness
was broken by the battering
ram of inevitability
surrendering in a tumble
into the water insatiable
its claim of clay and clattering
collecting above the surface
like a landed lord
gathering payment from his vassals

The sand
the rocks
the calcified remnants of
oxygen-wielding monsters
may succumb
into the depths or
erode into ash
but the water will remain