Noah Was a Boat Person
I found Noah’s Ark!
I didn’t discover it atop Mt Ararat, where many expect it to be. I found it colourfully preserved on a limited edition plate by Bill Bell, titled ‘Two By Two’.
Perhaps once there was a flood. A boat with eight people and scores of animals aboard. A mountain upon which the boat settled as the water subsided. A dove that brought back hope in the shape of an olive leaf.
Be that as it may. What strikes me today is that Noah was a boat person.
The only difference between Noah’s experience and what happens now is that when the flood receded he landed on a friendly shore — but only because there were no people there at all.
If there had been, the story wouldn’t have ended as happily as it did.
The name ‘Noah’ means rest, comfort, repose. This is what people seek when they bundle treasured family members and meager possessions into a vessel that floats, and push off from a shore that was once called home but is now a hell on earth.
Of course the picture on the plate turns a horrendous event into an idyllic one because Bill Bell focussed his artistic skills on the moment of release. The ark inmates eagerly await their turn to step onto dry ground and make a new life.
Still, some of the faces look apprehensive. Immigration isn’t easy.
Noah’s Ark is a powerful, timeless, human symbol of an overloaded vessel seeking safety.
Feel the fear.
Feel the hope.
Put yourself on the boat.
Celebrating friendly shores,
Marlane
Originally published at www.marlaneainsworth.com