Holding Water

You wonder if the fight is worth

the trouble. And even when you

win, you know as sure as the earth

has cracks, tomorrow is a new

day for old battles. Victory

is a word for kids and old men.

Their stories hurt no history.

You, however, are steeped in sin.

Yet your grandfather has a voice

that wraps its truth in soft fingers.

And your son listens with a heart

that doesn’t think of fear or choice.

You are the vessel that lingers
between old ends and a new start.