The Lives of the Non-Combatants

You could make it through today
And pray for a miracle
To rescue you tomorrow,

As half the world does daily,
Most without your sympathy.
The lives of non-combatants

In any major event
Emerge and end easily—
Smoothly, seen from a distance—

Waves heaving into being
In ranks to the horizon
Warships cutting across them,

Crosswinds raising them again.
And every wave is thinking,
Since thinking is made of waves,

You could make it through this rain
And pray for a miracle
To restore your former grace.