Hangs In The Air Above
a retelling of an old story
i
Love is strong, so I’m told. But justice
is the cornerstone of the world.
Chaos would reign supreme without the rock:
the thing that sets everything to rights.
ii
The voice of God calls out to me to warn
Nineveh, great city, of her fate.
“I have seen her evil: I will wait.”
I turn and run West-ward from his face.
Cain is avenged seven times, but what
of Israel: God’s chosen bride?
Nineveh needs no word; just
someone close enough to dig her grave.
But the breath of God can’t be ignored —
She is the wind who stirs the deep: thunders
and the world erupts, disturbing those
who sleep in beds beneath the stone and dust.
The vault of flesh and bone consumes, entombs;
a craggy crown wraps around my head.
I am baptized — overwhelmed in fear.
The grave is dark and foul. I cannot breathe.
iii
Pagans bow before their gods of stone.
Consumed, they kiss what they have made with hands.
But from the depths, O God, to you I cry.
I will rise again to praise your name.
The grave was split and I was spit out
on land. The word of God comes again.
“Hear the word of Yah: in forty days
judgement falls: Nineveh is doomed.”
But the very thing I feared the most
fell on me like the graven stone
the Ninevites carved and bowed before.
They cried out for mercy and he heard.
Our God is a gracious God, his wrath
is always overcome by steadfast love.
A fire burns — consumes my bones.
It is far too much for me to bear.
iv
I give full vent to my rage. I question
his integrity. I sit nearby
to wait and watch and see: would he prove
to be the righteous judge for which I hoped?
I am alone beside myself: I wait.
My shade has been removed, scorched by the sun.
God lays his questions at my feet, then leaves!
My righteous rage remains, unsatisfied.
Though I am exposed by sun, I feel
my heart suffocated in the depths.
Yah has left me with my hate: I wait.
The query hangs in the air above.
© Darryl Willis 2021
