Contingency Plans
If we might figure out why the water waits
If we could reason our way out of this mess,
Then we might never have reason to fear hurricanes.
Then we could clean the cellar, closets, and the garage.
When we manage to stitch the night by all its stars,
When we finally think of names for everyone,
Make sure to keep the knot from slipping out of sight.
Make sure to tell each, I love you, I love you, I love you.
Suppose we try returning to times when God was God,
Suppose we decide our recycling ranks next to holiness,
And I will never yield the floor for pleas for mercy.
And I will try to keep the bins kempt and orderly.
—David K. Wheeler, from Contingency Plans
T.S. Poetry Press, 2010
