Friday, May 19, 2017

The red, gold, and brown


After Isaiah 1

The red, gold, and brown
a disguise, a preparation
and announcement of the fall
of the oak in the garden
unwatered, parched, prepared
to shed its life and thrust
stark limbs in supplication
to the sky, gnarled hands
grasping for the life dying
below the ground.

The leaves descend into mounds
of tinder, ready for a spark,
any spark, of any type or kind
or source, to begin the consumption
to start a fire, predicted
but long denied.

Eager voices:
   what do we do
   tell us

And the prophet smiled
in anticipation:
   don’t do wrong
     do right – you can learn this
   desire and search for justice
     you can embrace this
   encourage the downtrodden
     you can ease their chains, their pains
   defend the orphan
    who has no defense
   plead for the widow
     without an advocate

Voices, no longer eager:
   muttering
   scoffing
   rejecting
   moving away in a cloud of murmurs


Photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

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