A Sense of Our Changing Planet

As my daughters
Were growing up,
I made it a practice
To point out
Changes I observed
Going on around us.
Our planet
And the ground
Beneath our feet
Are in a constant
State of flux,
And I wanted them
To be aware
Of the processes involved.
California is a phenomenal place
To observe
The forces of nature
In action.
We have abundant cliffs
And bare mountains
Offering vivid evidence
Of the tectonic contortions
To which the land
Has been subjected.
Massive landslides,
Both ancient and modern,
Are clearly visible.
The tendency of the mountains
To slowly migrate to the sea
Is blatantly obvious.
Major fault zones
Crisscross the terrain,
And there are dramatic signs
That much of the land
Rose from the sea
Eons ago.
Tilted geologic features
Give testimony
To the massive displacements
Which have occurred.
I showed them seashells
On mountain tops
And high wave cut benches
Hundreds of feet
Above the sea.
We saw beach front homes
And much of our local pier
Wash out to sea.
We saw massive dredging operations
Battling to keep
The harbors open
And sand on the beaches.
We walked among the driftwood
On the beach
After a major storm,
Spotting wood and debris
That had washed down
From high in the mountains.
We saw fire, drought and flood
And pictures of
Mt. St. Helens erupting.
We learned of El Niño
And witnessed it’s impact.
We noticed insects and spiders
That seemed to mysteriously
Come and go,
Frogs that silently vanish,
And we wonder
Where they went.
I told them about
Desert animals
I caught as a child,
That can no longer be found.
We read of disappearing rain forests
And expanding desert sands.
I told them of things
I had seen in far away places,
About the desolate deserts
Of Northern Peru
Where masses of people
Once lived and harvested crops,
About Stonehenge
And other monuments
To distant times
And long ago people.
Even in the short time
They have been alive,
My daughters have witnessed
Phenomenal change.
None of us have any idea
What is normal
Or how fast the world
Is supposed to change.
We have our opinions
As to whether
The changes we see
Are good or bad,
But our opinions
Don’t really matter.
We are merely spectators
Watching the planet change.