The Urchin's Progress

The Urchin's Progress

One day, purple urchins
covered the left side of a
great rock jutting into the sea
and the urchins remained there
until they were pushed halfway
back by olive urchins coming
up on the right side of the
rocks washed by the sea

Next day, olive urchins fell
back to one side pushed back
by the purple ones as if they
were never masters over the other
and the struggle went on until the day
when a great wave washed over the
lesser rock and swept away the
urchins, purple and olive

Years later, visitors would come
to the spot and say what a
nice empty rock to sit upon,
to contemplate the sea and
never think once of the urchins
purple or olive who once held
sway over their domains.
-sek (Steve E. Knoblock),
Original work July 12, 2005, revised May 3, 2007.

This is more of a story and prose poem than a metered poem.