The Ships Still Sail

The river is on fire
Yet the ships still sail.

They lumber slowly from the docks
Where they have gorged on grain,
On coal, on every saleable
Commodity.

We sail into fire
But the flames don’t touch us.
They part before us like fog,
Always thickest just that far ahead.

On deck, we coil ropes
Thicker than our arms,
Looking to the weather.

The fire is tomorrow
And our brawny youth
Is still invincible.