A 2,000 Year Hurricane Season

It is easier to thicken one’s skin
than strengthen a spine.
To say “everything will be okay”
to our loved ones huddled in the bathtub
long after the power was lost
and that declaration lost its weight.
And yet in a raging storm
a tree’s greatest defense
are the roots, not its bark.
And if the best defense
better than roots in a hurricane
is a good offense
Why do we grit our teeth
turning our cheeks and thanking God
for the strength to withstand our trials and trespassers
but never the strength to overcome our oppressors?

Is it an issue of object permanence?
Abandoning these buried weapons
of the earth, and all divine protection
out of sight and out of mind
in favor of a brittle facade, weak to the touch
but at least we can touch it.
Or do we simply assume these things to be
out of reach and beyond our influence?
Certain we are outmatched by powers
much greater than ourselves, while at the same time
too afraid to join anything bigger than ourselves
big enough to require trust and extra pairs of hands.
For what if we are lost among the greatness
both vast and awesome?

We are not lost in these infinite seas
but found, our place in the world
transient and symbiotic
as we learn to discard our borders
meeting the needs of the many
while roly-polies curl up into balls
protecting the needs of the few
safe from the storm
but blind to the rainbow.