Arising torrent sweeps away the past.
The cleansing of some ways is overdue,
But must inspired beauty perish, too?
You've known that nothing physical can last
Forever, yet you mourn the senseless loss,
The indiscrim'nate dissolution of
Your culture, nature, people that you love
Along with the corruption, lies, the dross
Of institutions that outlived their use.
There's no resisting any tide so strong.
But is your substance pure enough to be
The water that diffuses and renews?
If not, then you, too, must be swept along
Recycled into new reality. . .
It may not be your place to choose.
-- JJM = #29 in the I Ching Sonnet Project
