My children are very curious. They want to know how things are made.
So after a recent trip to The Pinnacles -
those beautiful rocky structures in the desert of Western Australia -
those beautiful rocky structures in the desert of Western Australia -
I decided it was easier to write a poem to help answer their many questions.
There's a story in the sand
of creatures long ago-
swimming in the ocean deep,
waves rolling to and fro.
Time went on - the molluscs perished
leaving just a hardened shell-
an empty hollow reminder
that here they used to dwell.
Carried on the waves
shells washed up on the shore-
the crashing Indian blue
bringing hundreds and thousands more.
Eventually the shells
broke down to tiny grains-
lime-rich sands were formed-
and on the shoreline laid.
Then suddenly the wind-
in forceful mighty gusts-
picked up those grains of sand
and dropped them in the dust.
The sand piles kept on growing
'til ample dunes were formed-
up to three hundred meters (!)
these inland towers loomed.
From here it is a mystery
(of sorts, as some may say)-
it could have been the rain
that washed the calcite away.
And while it formed a solid
on the sand that laid below,
some plants grew up on top-
roots reaching right down low.
But plants don't live forever-
they too were blown away-
leaving just the hardened rocks
that stand in the desert today.