24 March 2024

By Philip Kuepper

The race
is treacherous
where connect
two bodies of water;
captains cautious
steering their crafts
through what is capable
of becoming rapids
rushing, simultaneously, in opposite
directions, each body possessing
its own current.
Such is the lay of the water.
Such is the nature of the elemental,
something man must
learn to navigate,
or perish.
Water will drown,
fire burn,
earth quake
air fill with pollutants.
The elements rule.
Abuse them, and they abuse.
Enter the race, slowly.
Stand watch.
Read the rushing,
read the crashing of the currents.
They are the elemental
race-force flowing as it will,
a force to be accepted,
and respected.

(12 February 2024)