Legally trapped

After Daniel 6:10-23 

A law, an injunction,

to prevent a prayer,

any prayer, by any one,

to any god, most of all,

to the One.

 

He prayed anyway,

as if the law were null

and nothing had 

changed to make him

change his mind or

convince him to do

anything other than 

what he did, daily.

 

Seized and chained, he’s

thrown into the den of lions 

to receive the full penalty 

of an unjust law, watched

by a king trapped by his own

words, a king anguished

in almost physical pain.

 

The lions roam their den.

Morning breaks. The king

hurries to find the man

he trusted and revered, 

expecting to find bones.

Instead, he finds the man,

unharmed.

 

Photograph by Karsten Winegeart via Unsplash. Used with permission.