for nothing is fixed

 

.

For nothing is fixed,
 

forever, forever, forever, 


it is not fixed;
 

the earth is always shifting,

the light is always changing,

the sea does not cease to grind down rock.

Generations do not cease to be born,
 

and we are responsible to them
 

because we are the only witnesses they have.
 

The sea rises, the light fails, 


lovers cling to each other, 


and children cling to us.
 

The moment we cease to hold each other, 


the moment we break faith with one another,
 

the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.

—James Baldwin

For Nothing Is Fixed

.