Order Poem by Barry Middleton

we seek refuge from chaos
but chaos is our mother
in the gray cloud wind stirs
seabirds spin and cry

we may wish it otherwise
still there is no song here
no song but the push of air
dumb and blind as reflex

the flag streams in a rush
then sags into exhaustion
the tree is a sturdy cross
where we hang our honor

there is no silence on earth
but wind and tree and bird
do not yield a single word
the whistle of wind no tune

arrogance might weep at this
and claim we are abandoned
yet we are part of a universe
and it will never leave us

humility requires we shelter
shelter in the word of chaos
and make our song ring forth
in symphonies of life and dust