A dream

After Matthew 2:1-15

The visitors left eastward,

having delivered their gifts

of gold, of frankincense,

of myrrh, of worship. 

Then a dream: an angel

of light telling a story

of darkness, a story

of such urgency that

the dreamer woke and

left. The dreamer did

what he was told,

remaining quietly

beyond the hand

holding the knife. 

In time came the call

to return, the call foretold,

the call foreshadowed

by an exodus from Egypt.

Photograph by Federico Bottos via Unsplash. Used with permission.