Duty and Destiny

Duty and destiny, twin winds of fate
That guide all the tides that lift meek and great
And tumble them up, through wrack and through spume
To die on the shore in terror and gloom.

What purpose is served by this surging sea?
The spindrift rides the wind of destiny,
The starfish duty drives, to live each day.
What heart chooses burden and shapes the clay?

Wisdom well knows the look of duty's face
Found in the arms of destiny's embrace
One wind that we ride toward unknown door
One wind that drives us to reef or to shore.