Dialogue of Emesh and Enten

Spring rounds the debate between
Summer and winter, as fall
Will round it again. No one

Wins. Every year this begins.
The great mountains hump the hills.
The hills weep streams and seasons.

These necessities of things
Gain voices when humans pretend.
It’s all family with them,

Metaphorical mating
Of atmosphere and the earth,
The brotherhood of weather,

What parts of the world
Deserve the other parts’ praise,
Victuals, intoxicants,

And esteem. That sort of thing.
We’ve noted before, we’ll note
It again—the immortals were born

When backstories were given
To nonliving things. The storm,
The mountain, offspring seasons,

They seem to struggle like you,
To contest each other, but
Unlike you they come again.

Give them names and give them roles
You relate around your hearths,
You can only start and restart.