Wisdom pools at the feet
of those who've fallen
to tears and dust,
only to slip in the mud
when attempting to stand.
They know.
When the waters of forgiveness
extinguish the fires of fear,
When eyes meet
and hands extend,
When rights and wants
give way to needs,
When trust meets faith
in the arms of hope,
When the holy meets the broken
in the church of sighing dreams,
And when the hollow bones
of history's ghosts
walk hand in hand
with today's fleshed bones,
When blackened trees
glint green in morning light,
Then, and only then,
will the great ship
begin its slow turn
from storm, through struggle,
to the rising waters
of the ocean, endless,
cresting the swelling waves
determined and resolute,
eyes fixed firmly
on the ever-shifting
horizon.