For Casualties and Victims

I clung to definitions as the void
Of yesterday congealed into today.
Victims of an accident are casualties.
Casualties of a sacrifice are victims.

The future may hold nothing so defined
as empty victory or brave defeat:
We may elect to cultivate a garden
or uproot every other callow plant.

The future may become so spiked by spite
that rushing rivers turn to poison straits.
The future may become too ominous
for oracles and analysts to bear.

The future may become a casualty:
What can I do against the mounting tally
But toss my coin into this feckless fountain,
And call whatever happens, “Will of God”?

The future may be marked by many victims.
What can I do before the reckoning
but throw my weight behind my favorite adage,
and blush if anybody calls me wise?

What can I do against the mounting tally?
What can I do before the reckoning?
What can I do for casualties and victims
save stay on task – like any other wretch?