Death by oak tree

After 2 Samuel 18 

The son, favored,

natural leader,

ambitious, the son

with his famous mane

of hair, escapes defeat

and gets his famous

mane of hair entangled

in an oak tree. He’s

caught, dangling,

defenseless. His

ambition and rebellion

have been brought

to this moment,

this humiliation

of one’s pride

entangled and 

immobilized, until

it ends with archers

letting arrows fly.

His pride and

his ambition are

buried in a pit,

buried in stones.

 

Photograph by Andrew Shelley via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

Apostle! – a sonnet for St. Paul – Malcolm Guite.

 

“The Burden,” poem by Vasile Voiculescu – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

“O Zion, Haste,” hymn by Mary Ann Thomson – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.