a modicum
of purpose
or will
in each post-
diluvial squall—
if the howling wind
has half a mind,
has half a mind,
and the incoherent
rain can be said
to have a goal—
it could only be
to polish
even the smallest
wild soul
(which survived
the first time
by disobeying—
by stowing away
on Noah's boat
by stowing away
on Noah's boat
instead of praying)
until it glistens
the way it did
until it glistens
the way it did
back then—that is:
after the beginning,
but before
the last war.
