Vessels

We do not keep things as they are Not for long, not once they shine Not once fear has found a surface Not once pity wants a sign Skin or banner, wound or border Face or name or little boat Once the charge begins to gather Something ordinary has to hold There is always a vessel Found, raised, marked, or made There is always a vessel For the weight we will not take Lifted into meaning Driven into blame There is always a vessel Given all the borrowed virtues That make strangers look like right Some are cornered by accusation Pressed until the outline shows Made to bear the whole quarrel By the hands that came opposed There is always a vessel Found, raised, marked, or made There is always a vessel For the weight we will not take Lifted into meaning Driven into blame There is always a vessel And it never stays the same Called by some a sign of mercy Called by some a sign of threat Knelt before and marked for warning Loaded down with what was said Still the thing beneath the naming Still the body, word, or place Only carrying what we poured there Only wearing what we traced When one is emptied We look around When one is shattered Another is found When one grows heavy Or won’t hold still We change the story But keep the will There is always a vessel Found, raised, marked, or made There is always a vessel For the weight we will not take Lifted into meaning Driven into blame There is always a vessel And it never stays the same Face to banner Wound to word Boat to border Heard to unheard Name to nation Saint to threat There is always a vessel There is always one left