Natural and social upheavals now engulf our lives. Floods can be an overflow of water or an outpouring of tears. We can no longer depend on a benevolent climate, an orderly progression of the seasons, or a reliable ship of state to navigate us safely through troubled waters. Winds blast, clouds burst, politicians bluster, and we are left to float into unknown seas.
An eerie calm descends when the rains cease, the hurricane blows over, an angry god is appeased. Fast-moving water can float things never meant to ride the waves, and strange, often strangely beautiful scenes appear before us. Odd craft drift by—dinette sets, quilted settees—and we wonder at the sight of someone too lost or too tired to swim.
