Sedimentation

Adeene Denton

I like the way the Earth erodes
The way mountains shrivel
and valleys fill
The way great river boulders
become curved and smooth
And sediment settles
quietly
to the seafloor
Wish I could fill the holes in my life like that
Let my hollows brim
with rainwater
and my scars grow covered
with moss
Grind my memories into sand dunes
and let them
drift
Abrade me like a streambed stone
Pluck off my edges
I will crumble
Like the rocks do
And emerge as something new

The Science

This poem describes the life cycle of erosion and sedimentation on the Earth, a process that defines the geologic record. Even the top of a highest peak erodes into smaller and smaller pieces over time, until it’s carried downward by wind and water and dumped into the ocean, where it sinks quietly towards the seafloor. As a geologist, I’m fascinated by the way we understand the very features of the Earth as impermanent, and capable of grand transformation.

The Poet

Adeene Denton is a PhD candidate in Planetary Science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where she studies the origin and evolution of Pluto and its impact basins. She is trained as a scientist, historian, and dancer, which informs her scientific and artistic practices, both as a dancer and a poet. Find her on Twitter @spacewhalerider.

Next poem: Tap Dancing the Leaves by Katya Dimitrova Petrova