Capsize

There’s a hand

On the driftwood

And the boat’s still afloat

But we’re waiting

On a capsize

We’ve all agreed

That the lifeboats are there

And they’re steady

And they’re stable

And there’s enough

To go around

But the waves seem pale

And the storm seems dull

We’re on deck

In our best dressed

Telling ourselves

We’ve got hours left

There’s gonna be a capsize

But who knows when?

Just soon

But when is soon?

And how long would we need

To get ourselves

To safety?

Nobody’s an authority

On self-preservation

Nobody can say

When the waves will be too high

Or the water too choppy

Or the sharks too hungry

Or the line crossed

We all know

We’re going to capsize

But it’s not what you know

But what you do

With what you know?

The resources are there

The answers are clear

The water’s dark

And nobody knows

How to swim

So you think we’d be concerned

About the capsize

But…

Twelve minutes goes by

Then an hour

Then another

We think we have time

We look at the clock

We check the watch

We tick tick tick

And think--

Right now

Right now

The boat rocks

The wood groans

The rain splatters the deck
And somebody yells about something

But we can’t hear

What it is

Something snaps

A light goes out

The mist becomes a spray

And the spray a force

And the force

A threat

We should be worried

We should panic

We should sweat

But the salt from the sea

Would just wash it away

We hang on

Our hand

On the driftwood

In the water

Our friends separated

Our relatives lost

Our loved ones

Split like the wood

On the deck

That cracked

Right down the middle

We see the next hour

And the next

And the next

And then nothing

After that

But in the moment

Of the opportunity

We see a change--

And let it pass

Why wouldn’t we--

Why wouldn’t we--

Why wouldn’t we

Do something

With everything we agreed on

We also agreed

That there was nothing

To do

We’re going to capsize

That’s what we know

And we know we can’t do anything

About

What we know