Child feet know the textures of the earth
lush and rich like creamy pudding or
hot sand after a desert wind storm or
dewey morning grass.

Purveyors and pursuers of land
savor the layers
shoelessly experiencing
the depth and beauty of each granular
absorbing the utter complexity.

Dwellers get bogged down in bulky rock
yielding to the density of soil
sunk in the minutia that
buries them living
until breath gives way to rest.

Linda Joy Walder