nataraja

earth pulsates in geologic time
from subduction to uplift,
unstoppable, ineffable,
its yawning need for entropy unmet –
its feral powers predestined
in the majesty of falling waters
gleaming in bright sunlight,
in the valor of red tail hawks
circling grey skies of winter,
in the resolution of crawfish
flicking backwards under rocks,
in the passion of young lovers
coupling in their rumpled bed -
dreams exploding, erupting,
inexorably, onto the face of earth -
in a dance of tectonic intent
and the unseen concord of
annihilation and formation,
symmetrical, measured,
immanent with savage grace
and the quest for exhaustion
and the completeness of death,
all feeding the great furnace
that forges the rare metal of life.