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Lord of the storm, spare Kingston’s unkempt port,
spare Spanish Town and even Montego Bay.
Open your eye only on empty sea.
Let vessels reach their quays unscathed, and lashings
never snap. Let shantytowns stay roofed,
and coconuts not cannonball through walls.

Almighty, if it pleases you to rip
the tamarinds with sheets of windblown tin
and whip the alleyways with sparking wires,
if afterward a plague of flies and boils
afflicts the islanders, vouchsafe them faith
that they may bury their dead, build anew,
watch for cyclones, yet believe in You.

Alan Sullivan

Photo by Marc Babin on Unsplash. Image cropped.


Dear Reader,

You have a decision to make: double or nothing.

For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.

In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.

So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?

Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
GIVE NOW