In making amends, we transform dirt into soil.
Per Rebecca Louie in her book Compost City:
When you feed and nurture the soil, you feed and nurture everything that depends on that soil to survive—which includes you.
Soil is an elegant ecosystem made up of organic matter (called humus), rocks, minerals, water, air, and a web of micro- and macroorganisms. It’s not to be confused with dirt, which is the stray stuff stuck in your sneaker treads or smeared across your jeans. Soil is rich with life, and we hold it close to our gardens and our hearts. (pp 4-5)
So—from now on, no more talk here of “dead dirt.” Instead, “soil.”