Tides Will Ebb

No matter how often they ebb away,    
The oceans must persist until they've kissed  
The shoreline; waters flow and every day
Is beautiful, because the tides insist    
True loveliness is not the pretty face,    
Nor well-formed bodies either; it is soul,    
Carved from the air by fire; branded by place;    
And breath, spirit and an inviolate goal:     
To be so brave or even unafraid    
Of a belief in softness; tenderness,    
Dug out from masculinity displayed    
Too much - hyper on holes and an excess    
Of flooding coves and hollows every day -    
Makes one aware that tides will ebb away.