I sit by the Mediterranean Sea
its waves pulling at the concrete barricade.
Whispers passed in white noise,
challenge stone and water to a duel.

The man-made form declares,
“I am solid, stable, and strong,
immovable by wind or water or time!”

The sea laughs as crest and foam,
each wave but one of a billion,
each wave rushing to shore.
Stone will erode to sand once more.

The edges are made visible,
the metal reinforcement exposed.
The corrosion of salt and air
already take their toll.

Hundreds of boats rise and fall.
Millions of tons lifted,
as though their mass was no more.

I sit by the Mediterranean Sea
its waves pulling at the concrete barricade.
Whispers passed in white noise …
but the victor is already known.