Life Persists

Images from Portugese Tile Art

Break open the sod, leave the soil exposed. In short time all such real estate is occupied -- no agent needed. Such space is invaded with organisms, ready, just waiting for such an event.

They say, of course, "Location, location, location!" But, not so picky here, for in every corner where moisture and nutrient coincide -- abundance encroaches. Life persists....

A potential predator approaches the nest. For both male and female there is no fear, just a purity of insistence, an intensity of desire directed toward the protection of one’s own.

They scold, they dive-bomb, they attack. They cause the intruder to jump and dodge. They put themselves in repetitive jeopardy, all for the sake of their own, their loves. Life persists...

After the tide recedes we turn over a rock, almost every centimetre is territorialized by organisms, often life upon life: oyster upon stone, oyster upon oyster, barnacle upon oyster, crab upon barnacle, starfish upon oyster and barnacle. The crab scurries off to the side.

We turn away from this rock. Soon after a seagull arrives. Bird upon starfish, stealing away, consuming.

Space in the tidal zone is never empty. Even the sand above the high-tide line is made up of calcium, coarse and crushed, yesterday’s crustacean-constructions now sea-worn particles. Laying upon such particles are hominoid sun-worshipers. Life refuses even the resemblance of deficit. Life persists...

Past relations mostly slipped away – what we think of as craziness does that. Typical life expectations now beyond evasive, he pushes the shopping cart, he spits on the sidewalk, he finds a meal where he can, he obtains a fix by any means. Against odds – Life persists...

In tall buildings, amidst grandeur, clear expectations, dressed in grey and white pin-striping, she pursues what she knows she deserves. She looks for money, but more than money. She searches for abstracts like power, authority, recognition. Such desires seem most illusory, yet, through it all, she won’t give up. For, over and over -- Life persists...