Waves (late 2000)

Darkly drowsing on the shore
of what has been and
what will be I stand in the drone
of wave after wave
crashing the moment
into the sad hiss of ebb
again and again
each set more real
more damaging than the last
and I wonder how much
more we can take of this truth
before we all burst
like the heart of a rain-soaked
Southern oak but fortunately
there is night and sleep
beneath this shore
restoring this morning’s hope
that it will all make sense
to us all someday
and that God’s in the heart
of every wave, powering
what eventually will set us free.