Member-only story
In the Grasp of Tides Greater Than Ourselves
Prose Poetry
the waves begin as a whisper, then build into noise that cannot be ignored — like wartime munitions pounding against pavement, like bodies collapsing against the strain of forces so much greater
I saw you at the edge of the world in a time different from here. You said your name — or something just as important — but I could not hear you. Everything was lost in a void. But I held out my hand, and you grasped it, and we made it to the other side.
the earth chokes out smoke into skies that were once so much more fair — and we are the soldiers on this plain, holding up flags of defiance, even while we are battered and bruised in response to our cries for peace
I thought forever was in our hands when we escaped. Your lips shaped prayers, your eyes closed as your head bent in supplication, but who would hear you? At that point, it was easy to believe God had abandoned us. When you look through the looking glass of war, it’s hard to believe in any good thing — especially hope.
the days pass while the sky grows heavy with smog, great big belches of terror spreading with no signs of stopping — and we are so tired, though we cling close to our weapons that feel like the only doorways to salvation
