Choices

Sitting on the

Swampscott sea wall,

I watch the water

Slap against the rocks.

Tide batters stone.

Every day the ocean

Pounds there, implacable.

Time passes, and rock erodes

Worn down because it

Cannot escape.



But the wall I sit on

Is made of granite,

Taken, then fashioned into

Something new. No one

Considered the future of

That stone to be fixed

Or immutable.



Destiny denies change. She

Whispers, “Accept erosion; all that

Exists fades. Die now to

your choices and your dreams.”

Destiny drifts, rudderless,

Her insinuations riding

On buffeting winds.



Faith knows Destiny

As a door to despair. Faith

Avers “Break rocks, build a lighthouse

And let it send its beacon

To draw those drifting home.”

Faith grants a comforting shelter

Away from the storms. Faith

Discards Destiny’s despondent

Inertia to provide us

Hope for a new future.



Prompt: Write a poem or short story, choosing "Spiritual" as one of your genres. Use all of the following words bolded for judging convenience:

faith
destiny
time
watch
tide
ocean