And we wait

After Hebrew 11:31 and Joshua 2:1-14

And we wait.

We can hear the sounds

of the multitudes approaching,

the feet of thunder,

the shields of cracking lightning.

The city is closed, tightly.

My house, filled with family,

family who shunned me before,

my house is tightly closed.

The sign hangs from the window,

the sign of red like blood,

the sign of thread to bind.

Our lives hang by a thread,

by that thread of scarlet.

And we wait

as the sounds of thunder

circle round the city.

the noose tightening.

I see fear in the faces

around me, the soft cries

of the children,

the fear of imminent death.

I hear my mother’s quiet sob.

But the thread hangs

from the window,

binding us,

binding them.

Photograph by Circe Denyer via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Rahab’s sign

After Hebrew 11:31 and Joshua 2:1-14

They knew to come to me

though how they knew

is unknown.

I’ve waited for their hordes

to approach, knowing God

was with them, knowing they

would prevail, knowing

my city would fall.

So they come, these two,

and I hide them on the roof,

and I lie for them,

and I help them escape.

The scarlet rope is our contract,

the sign of our salvation.

Photograph by Dawn Hudson via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.