On This Side of the Atlantic (Reynisfjara, Iceland)

Warning:

Remain 30 meters away from the water

where merciless waves crash

against tall basalt columns.

But do admire the crow-colored grains of sand

And the few inky pebbles that capture the sun’s radiance 

With their iridescence attributed to a light sheen of oil, our industry

that should have been contained, yet the sea yields to no one.

The coastline of Reynisfjara is a battle between black sand

and grey, ferocious waters that consume the defenseless beach.

Each tide redraws the line that divides the land and sea,

and sand retreats grain by grain.

So as the sea consumes

slivers of Reynisfjara’s dark sand,

the Atlantic feels slightly closer

to the people of Vík.