broken shells lie like so much flotsam

on the morning beach,

the remnants of small lives

seemingly lost...

seemingly insignificant...

the truth is

they are still life,

just different now.

they have been emptied by other sea life

and left to drift,

to collide with one another

in the currents of a storm....

or simply in the surf.

today they provide

broken beauty.

the next high tide

will move them to a new home,

will take them to balmy waters,

will break them into smaller pieces

until they become a beautiful beach

and the resting place

for other broken beauty.