15
When God Calls Us Back to the Sea
This is the last stop. Whatever we left
now comes before us, whatever ahead
some place we’ve already been. When God calls us
we stand side to side, hands almost touching.
You must accept it. Have some dignity.
Let the waves come crashing down over us
as we march into the sea. This is where
the world ends. Don’t cry, this is not
a mournful tune. This is where you will swim
for eternity. Let the rubber factories fall.
Let the coal crumble into the roaring
waters. No more need for uranium.
Forget the moon. Forget the people who
came before you and the ones who will
never come. And as we march forward, swallowed,
our lips will hold God’s uttering. No shouting
but a steady cry, a decree of love
directed to our devils. You will not
have us. And finally we will be
humanity—human more than we’ve ever been.