- a contrapuntal for the test of time
Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary
Three fundamental ways rock is formed
Write this down
There will always be a test at the end
Igneous
Too often we expect it to start with fire
Thick molten asthenosphere extruded onto the surface
Pyroclastic explosions announcing the genesis of new bedrock
While this is true, how often that same magma pools below the surface,
slowly cools
crystallizes into the granite from which we construct
resilient countertops
our sturdiest foundations
Metamorphic
Taking some ordinary boulder to press and swirl away into marble
a diamond
the right heat and pressure
the old grains twist and skew
It comes out changed
a completely new stone
unique and marbled mixture of all the same things
Sedimentary
When the rains come
things freeze and thaw
When nature’s perils crack and grind apart
all that once held together
the thousand motes erode away
follow gravity to the lowest spot
a place to settle
nestled in between the particles
the warmth and pressure
cementing
into sandstone
Love, our love is built
and we leave it teetering on a precipice
without knowing which way it will roll
and we are those who relegate “love” to mere
proms and first dates
Love is the stuff of a movie
that will build and build
without a flaw
like fireworks
the grand finale when we say those words
I love you. I do.
Does the movie show
the next day
the day after that
relationship like the ones we truly know
Our attempts at loving
scratched and worn
wobbly but holding together
Love is demonstrable:
a moment to find yourselves again
Sit and talk,
Dance, Travel, Hobbies you never imagined
palaces and seedy night clubs
on the one hand
On the other
we are someone new
transformed and banded
for each of us to discover the
blending of our partial hearts
into a new whole
When love is
like it tends to be
We are worn down
And this is
as we expect It
disappoints us, but
We begin to bind together
something old into something new
where our love becomes
our story
that once echoed
of a home
together
as one
Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary Love
Three fundamental ways our love is built
rock is formed and we leave it teetering on a precipice
Write this down without knowing which way it will roll
There will always be and we are those who relegate “love” to merely
a test at the end of proms and first dates
Igneous Love is the stuff of a movie
Too often we expect it to start with fire that will build and build
Thick molten asthenosphere without a flaw
extruded onto the surface like fireworks
pyroclastic explosions announcing the grand finale when we say those words,
The genesis of new bedrock: I love you. I do.
While this is true, how often does the movie show
that same magma pools below the surface the next day
slowly cools the day after that
crystallizes into the granite relationship like the ones we truly know
from which we construct Our attempts at loving
resilient countertops scratched and worn
our sturdiest foundations wobbly but holding together
Metamorphic Love is demonstrable:
Taking a moment to find yourselves again
some ordinary boulder to sit and talk,
press and swirl away into dance, travel, hobbies you never imagined
marble palaces and seedy night clubs,
a diamond on the one hand
the right heat and pressure On the other
the old grains twist and skew we are someone new
It comes out changed transformed and banded
a completely new stone for each of us to discover the
unique and marbled blending of our partial hearts
mixture of all the same things into a new whole
When love is
Sedimentary like it tends to be
When the rains come We are worn down
Things freeze and thaw And this is
when nature’s perils crack and grind apart as we expect it
All that once held together disappoints us, but
the thousand motes we begin to bind together
erode away something old into something new
follow gravity to the lowest spot where our love becomes
a place to settle our story
nestled in between the particles that once echoed
the warmth and pressure of a home
cementing together
into sandstone
as one
About the author
Christopher Clauss is an introvert, Ravenclaw, father, poet, and middle school science teacher from Keene, NH. He has represented New Hampshire six times at the National Poetry Slam as a member of the Slam Free or Die poetry slam team. His work explores the bliss and turmoil of faith, parenting, teaching, marriage, and community in rural New Hampshire. Christopher’s poems have been published in OVS, Silkworm, Slamchop, and Recipes for the Resistance from Pizza Pi Press. His mother believes his poetry is "just wonderful." Both of his daughters declare that he is the "best daddy they have," and his pre-teen science students rave that he is "Fine, I guess. Whatever."
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