The Pinnacles

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 - 

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.