Seashells The tide rolls in And swallows the beach whole Engulfing the sand The sandpipers The gulls The children Greedily drinking up All in its path All that are less mighty Then the roaring power of the sea But as all power does The water loses strength And the tide pulls in Once again Sparing the lives Sparing the sand The sandpipers The gulls And the children Of our Earth And in its wake It leaves a mess of seashells Broken Worn down Faded Burdened with age Each telling a unique story Of origin and death Of triumph and defeat Who did you used to be? A scallop, a clam? So different than the next Even if they look Exactly the same. And the children scatter Running to catch the seashells Because if they wait The sea will take them back And swallow them again A drug to ease its pain Swallowed down In the next wave