On the last day

After Isaiah 34-35

On the last day

of the last month

the skies will streak

with black and fire

on the last day

of the last month

the cities will fall

and the desert

the wilderness

will bloom, the place

of retreat, exile, hiding

on the last day

of the last month

the desert will welcome

the redeemed.

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

I pick my way

After Isaiah 34-35

I pick my way

among the ruins

the cracked stones

the smashed columns

the streets overgrown

with grass

and I wonder what

did this city, these people

do to earn the broken pavement,

the wind filled with dust.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

The nations hear

After Isaiah 34-35

The nations hear, and listen;

the nations are called, and gather;

the nations come together to learn

that no one is righteous, not even one.

Judgment is pealed across and among;

judgment is arriving, a sword.

The sky rolls up, the stars all fall.

Judgment, a retribution for what

is done and what is not done,

judgment arrives on the back

of a donkey, sailing through

a sea of palms.

Photograph by Bobby Mikul via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.