The durability of Estrada sandstone
seeps into me.
My arms swell into immovable vermillion arches
framing infinity.
Feet form fixed monoliths atop
evaporite basin.
Skin crinkles along anticlines,
austere, permanent.
I transpose into inert, unyielding rock.
Yet, underneath the adamantine composition time corrodes:
arid heat cracks through sedimentary layers;
wind abrades lithic fragments;
rain seeps into fissures,
freezes,
gnaws through feldspar grains.
I too am transforming:
sloughing off epithelium and vanity,
shedding muscle and hubris,
eroding bone
and ego.
My disintegration written in stone.
Atreyee Gupta is a writer exploring the liminal spaces in which humans interact with society, geography, and nature. Atreyee is the creator of Bespoke Traveler, a digital alcove examining travel’s transformative power. Atreyee’s work has been published in Main Street Rag, Rigorous, Shanghai Literary Review, and Still Point Arts Quarterly, among others.
Banner image by Amy Beth Wright.
