Читать книгу Old Testament Lore - Norman M. Chansky - Страница 9

The First Seven Days: Version One

In the beginning God Created heaven and earth. The earth was unformed and dark. The Spirit of God Encircled the earth. And God Said “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God Saw that the light was good. Then God Separated the light from the darkness. And there was evening and morning on the first day. Gen I, 1–4. The earth was filled with water and God Made a Celestial Sphere and Separated waters beneath it and above it. God Called The Celestial Sphere “Heaven.” The second day ended. On the third day God Separated the waters beneath the Celestial Sphere and Called the dry land “Earth” which generated grasses, herbs, and all manner of trees. On the fourth day the Celestial Lights ( the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets) issued forth to illume the night and to mark the seasons. On the fifth day all manner of creatures inhabited the earth. On the sixth day God Created Humans to be merciful caretakers of Creation. On the seventh day, after all was finished, God Rested and Declared it Sabbath Ordained a holy day, to be kept every week as a joyous day of rest. Gen I, 6 ff.

Day 1. In the Beginning there was The Sacred Source,

Within which God, Perfect and Without Equal Exists.

From that Source endless, dark, multicolored, formless space

Arose and silently stretched its vastness

And returned to surround the Sacred Source.

Then did God Bless the expanding space.

God Exists in Space and Space reflects God’s Infinity.

Day 2. Then gasses formed and mixed rising vapors and prisms.

Then God Gathered clusters of gasses

And Cradled them and Pressed them closely and lovingly

Until multicolored fires ignited

And Scattered them to give birth to orbs of suns and stars.

And the stars released oxygen into the cosmos.

Each heavenly light shone God’s Dazzling Radiance and spread God’s Thermonuclear Warmth.

Then did God Bless the suns and stars and all astral generations.

Then did each fiery orb release many kinds of dust, each with its own electrical charges.

Some dusts drifted aimlessly; others slammed into one another and formed mass;

Some hardened into rocks; others melted into rivers of metal.

God Exists in suns, stars, sands, rocks and they reflect God’s Creative Fires.

Day 3. Then God Gathered and Combined emerging gasses and dusts

And Formed planets, each with its own distance from the Sun;

Each with its own motion:

Each with its own orbit according to an ordained schedule.

No planet falling; no planet failing; each held in place by gravity.

Then were the planets and their seasons Blessed

For they were all good to God.

God Exists in planets whose rhythm reflect God’s Peerless Design.

Day 4. Gasses spread and surrounded the Earth planet,

Admitting Light so that Creation’s Works could be seen

Yet providing a protective shield to the eyes

And allowing warmth to pass through the atmosphere

While protecting all creatures from burning.

The Sun tended the spinning Earth by day and the moon by night.

Newly emerging gasses collided, separated and broke away

And recombined to form seas where life would flourish.

And gasses rising from the seas united with other elements to form air for breathing.

Moving land masses collided to make mountains rise from the seas

Hiding minerals beneath the great depths.

Then did God Bless the Earth planet and all planets yet to be born in the cosmos.

God Exists in all planets whose seas, atmosphere, and hills reflect God’s Heights and Depths.

Day 5. Proteins, dusts, sodium, zinc, ammonia, cesium, and cobalt drifted idly.

Then God Mixed these elements with ocean sprays and Whirled them in Mystic Broth.

Then Did God Make an ocean vent rise and warm the salty broth

Until the elements coalesced.

And then there was Life.

Bacteria. Cells.

Mitochondria! Messengers of God!

Then did God Create amino acids: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.

Then did God Twist the helix of amino acids and Rearrange them in infinite patterns,

Bridging them with sugars and phosphates in spiraling ladders.

The emerging proteins became the endless fonts of life.

Mitochondria, attaching themselves to mothers’ generative cells,

Energized the helix.

Then did God’s Messengers Breathe life into the generative cells

And Gave each creature a sacred voice and a sacred cadence for all time.

And God Choreographed life on Earth

With crawling animals and walking animals;

There were fruit trees for fruit eaters;

There were nut trees for nut eaters;

Herbivores and carnivores; procreators and scavengers.

Parasites, epiphytes and symbionts.

Each absorbed God; each extended the Divine Genius of Creation.

Then there appeared all manner of flora:

Those to grow in the sea, those to grow in the air, those to grow on the land.

Those that flower, those that bring forth fruit; those that bear nuts.

Those that are eaten; those that are merely admired.

Those that complete their cycle in one season;

Those that survive for centuries.

Firs with needles; cacti with thorns; trees with leaves;

Each plant producing its own kind for all generations;

Each plant transmitting its seeds to carry on its species;

Each seed unfolding new and unique qualities;

Each seed mixing with others of the same species to build a new family.

New combinations of proteins brought forth all manner of fauna.

Insects that crawl and those that fly.

All manner of birds were brought forth.

Those that float; those that fly; and those that walk on land.

All manner fish were brought forth:

Those that swim and those that crawl on the sea bottom.

All manner of animals were brought forth:

Those living in caves; those living in trees; and those living in the wild.

Those that are fleet; those that are slow-footed.

Then did God Bless the plants and the animals

And all life bearing chromosomes for the next generation.

God’s Genius Exists in flora and fauna and they reflect God’s Living Infinite Presence.

Day 6. After Careful Meditation

God’s Genius Rearranged spiraling amino acids, phosphates and sugars.

Each new helical twist brought forth a different human family:

The tall, the short; the dark, the light; the narrow, the stout.

Each was Endowed with The Holy Spirit; each was Selected to protect Nature.

Each was Selected to discover order in and extend the unfolding worlds of Nature.

Each was Selected to bring order to the worlds of Nature.

Each was Selected with the intelligence to study Nature’s secrets.

Each was Fitted with the power to preserve and extend Creation.

Each was Fitted with the choice of conserving Nature or destroying it.

Within each human God Inscribed the Sacred Knowledge of Right and Wrong

To balance destructive, generative, and protective impulses.

To each new generation Was Revealed Nature known since antiquity;

To each new generation Was Revealed Nature unknown to its forbears.

Each human Was Given the power to reason, enhance, and intensify thought.

Each human Was Given power to construct and reflect.

Each human Was Given the sparks of Mercy and Forgiveness;

Each human Was Given the resolve to serve others through Sacred

Inspirations.

To God each human is holy; no one is more treasured than another.

Each is a scion of the Sacred Source.

When the systems were in place for all Creation to be good for all Time,

God Blessed the human families and Assigned them the duty to protect Creation.

God’s Grace Exists in human families and human families reflect God’s Greatness and Infinity.

Day 7. When the patterns of Nature were completed, God Rested and Found Peace.

So it was with heavenly hosts circling for eternity: a time to give light, a time to renew.

So it is with the seas which rage today and whisper in the morrow.

So it is with the trees which awake in Summer and sleep in Winter.

So it is with all manner of life, seeking food and shelter for days

Then resting to prepare for the next quest.

So it is with God in glittering glory and with Ardor Created the cosmos in six days

And Rested on the seventh to Contemplate on its wonders and Remember them.

God Ordained that humans work six days and restore themselves on the seventh, the Sabbath.

Since that First Day of Rest has God Blessed each Sabbath day and Made it Sacred.

God’s Glory Glitters in cycles of Creation and Rest and Exists in all of Nature.

And all of Nature Reflects Harmoniously Rhythmic Continuity.

The First Seven Days: Version Two1

Within each particle throughout the Vast

That had no present and had no past

Dwelled God, Enshrined in endless Time,

Circled by depths and heights sublime.

All was hot and dark and still,

When swiftly dawned The Creator’s Will,

Launching lightning in all directions,

Pursued by thunder’s ricocheting reflections.

It was then that Time began

And when Space, as well, spread its span.

Light eddied from a fiery sun

And rings of planets in the cosmos spun.

Distant stars, jewels of the night,

Watched Earth born ‘midst showers of Light.

Gasses mixed and moisture spread

And living matter then was bred.

From the waters seas had formed,

Washed the world and brewed the storm.

Then Baptized cells as they arrived,

Nourished them, too, and they survived.

Plants grew up, both short and tall,

With flowers and fruits that ever enthrall.

Mountains rose to majestic size

Reaching high to the swelling skies.

Families of fish swarmed the seas

Spreading rainbow fantasies.

Animals roved the land to find

The havens which God to them Assigned.

Birds in the sky would daily scout

Nesting places all about.

Each bird chirped its very own song,

And animals and trees sang along.

Plainly lacking was a human pair

To tend to all with loving care.

Moments after Divine Meditation,

Humans arose to crown Creation.

Woman and Man, God Created

With both limitless love and hate unabated .

Adam, the man, and Eve, the wife,

Were placed on Earth to honor life.

To their souls God Conveyed

The laws of decency to be obeyed

Plants and animals with loving kindness to be tended

And Nature’s frail were by humans to be mended.

God Ordained, when all was done,

A Sabbath day, a holy one,

A day of prayer, a day of rest,

A day Eternal God Had Blessed.

Sabbath is an Eden

And God Blessing the seventh day Made it holy. That day was Ordained a day of rest from all that was Created. Gen II, 3.

Sabbath is an Eden away from the noisy crowds;

Where Voices soft are heard of Angels beyond the clouds.

And where the eyes watch daffodils gilding a Sacred mound;

Where sweet attar of roses is in every whiffet found.

And where ambrosia flavors every food and kindles a savor of taste;

Where every thought the mind devises is wise, uplifting, and chaste.

And where each heart is beating with the rhythm of Creation;

Where every soul is set to worship God in adoration.

At that moment our hands join with those who have gone before;

At that moment generations to come will join with those of yore.

And every wounded soul will heal from Eden’s Soothing Balm

And will be rendered into words of a sacred Sabbath psalm.

Quest to Surmise Nature’s Aspects: Two Haiku Poems

Complexity

The weave of Nature

Is spun silky and gritty

In knots and tangles.

Indefinable Creation

Mystery and chance

Play dice with the universe

And scoff at Science.

Blessed Are They Who Seek God in Every Gene

Blessed are they who seek God

In every gene

And reveal its mystery.

The First Humans: Version One

God Said: “Let us Fashion a human in our image, a version of OurSelves. Gen I, 26.

God Sought the counsel of Angels, partners in Causation.

“Let a race of human creatures crown Creation;

A race who will respect My Authority

And preserve and augment Creation’s immensity.”

The Consenters advised, “Create a creature

With a Mind like Yours capable of learning,

With a Soul like Yours sprouting righteousness,

With a Heart like Yours overflowing with mercy.”

The Dissenters advised, “such a creature

Would have a mind abounding in ignorance,

Would have a spirit sprouting wrong doing,

Would have a heart flowing with malice.

What creature can be as perfect as God?

But God Accepted the advice of the Consenters.

“You will rue this day,” scoffed the Dissenters!

In a thrice some genes in God’s laboratory mutated

And from the Essence of God were fashioned humans: Men and Women,

Not too many, as humanity was still an experiment.

Adam and Eve, closest to God in mind, soul, and heart were endowed with free will.

God said, “live upon My Creation, enjoy it, improve upon it

But you must be obedient and be responsible for your actions.”

God placed them side by side in The Garden of Eden, Epicenter of Creation,

And consecrated their marriage, pronouncing them husband and wife.

Each was the complement of the other; each the help mate of the other.

A choir of the Consenters filled the heavens with sweet songs

Which wafted out of The Garden and is heard today in the arias of the birds.

The hearts of the newlyweds were filled with rapture.

But the vexed Dissenters brewed cannons of thunder which rumble even today.

The newlyweds sought shelter from the tantrums of the Dissenters.

Rain drowned their ecstasy.

In time Adam and Eve learned what hunger is and how to satisfy it,

What thirst is and how to slake it, what heat and cold are and how to protect their bodies.

What beauty is and how to admire it;

What comfort is and how to enjoy it.

What knowledge is and how to increase it.

They learned how to make babies:

How to feed them, protect them, and how to teach them to survive.

But they also discovered need, greed, and evil.

They surrendered to temptations and engaged in actions Scorned by God.

They disobeyed as well as God’s Forgiveness but also exile from Paradise.

The refugees learned about the work of life and the permanence of death.

They built houses protecting them from the elements and fortifying them from foes;

They sewed garments shielding their skin.

They composed songs celebrating God’s Creation; they painted visions of history.

They witnessed murder and learned to grieve, to console, and to endure.

They taught their lessons to their descendants and to other humans in God’s Creation.

And the Consenters who advised God to Create humans were vindicated

And so were the Dissenters.

The First Humans: Version Two

The biota of Eden were thriving

And daily new species were arriving.

Blooms were on every manner of plant:

Fruit bearing and flowers that enchant.

Stripe´d animals with great speed were running

Leather-hided animals stretched out were sunning

Spotted animals through brush were leaping

Night time animals lay in tree branches sleeping.

Birds nesting in all kinds of trees

Were chirping entrancing melodies;

And fish were swimming hither and yon:

Catch a glimpse and then they are gone.

Angels on high, God’s Adjutants—Planners, Designers, and Confidantes

Marveled at the roots of God’s Creation,

The Very Cause of Cosmic Causation.

But as they Gazed upon the works they’d Schemed;

Something was missing to Them it seemed.

Lacking was a bridge to God Above:

A force of wisdom, of justice, of love

Who could preserve the Creation that was Wrought.

Someone who would forge links, they sought,

Between the Sacred and the norm:

Someone who would Creation transform.

For many eons at length they Debated

And for many more they Meditated.

Finally they Developed a strategy

And Formed a plan to which all could agree:

Simians were charming and clever as well

And at solving problems did they excel.

Let us take an ovum from the primate, the very best,

Mutate it, and then with Divine Seed invest.

In a Sacred amniotic stream the Angels Immersed

Themselves and their imperfections were Dispersed.

At the moment that they were Purified,

The spirit of God in them would Abide.

Seeds of life from the Angelic race

Sped toward the ovum in a random pace.

When the seed and the ovum at last had met

The two curtsied and whirled in a minuet.

Then one seed to the ovum was invited

And the two gametes were united.

A zygote Divinely human was spun

And what had been two now was one

Absorbed into an Angel’s womb

A human creature began to bloom.

Nurtured by the Sacred Water

The human would become God’s first daughter.

Surrounding the ovum in empyrean mystique

The Angels Watched the fetus grow week by week.

Then after what seemed liked an interminable time

Out of its nest a human did climb.

Its body somewhat resembled the chimpanzee

But its soul was kin to The Deity.

The babe who from a labyrinth had crawled

Was someone whom the Angels Enthralled.

When the woman was fully grown,

The Radiance of God upon her shone.

Her fingers were agile, her posture was erect,

Her brain was of superior intellect.

She was Eve, exuding life and cheer,

Ready to conquer every new frontier.

From her celestial abode

Along sacred waters she strode

Until she reached heaven’s gate

Which opened to Eden’s utopian estate.

There she beheld a sylvan wonder,

Opaque lightning and silent thunder.

There was Warmth to bathe her soft skin

And Mercy to nourish her soul within.

When she would taste any manner of food,

She blessed God in thankful mood.

But lonely she was and lonely she’d be;

What kind of companion is a gnarled olive tree?

She petitioned the Angels to Send her a friend

To be her husband with whom she would blend.

The Angels Set out to create a HE

That would complement Eve, the living SHE.

In the sacred amniotic stream Angels again submerged

And their imperfections again were purged.

At the moment that they were purified

The spirit of God in them did Abide.

Then from another simian an ovum was extracted

That to the Divine Seed would be attracted.

Seeds of life from the Angelic race

Sped toward the ovum in a random pace.

When the seed and the ovum at last had met

They curtsied and whirled in a minuet.

The two gametes were united

When a seed to the ovum had been invited.

Again a zygote divinely human was spun

And what had been two now was one.

Absorbed in an Angel’s Merciful Womb

A human creature began to bloom.

What a remarkable deed the Angel had Done

And the human grew into a God’s first son.

Erect like Eve with a comparable brain

He was ready to explore the Divine Domain.

He wandered until he reached heaven’s gate

Which opened to Eden’s utopian estate.

He looked about and was struck by awe

And gave a name to whatever he saw.

Then in a stream he beheld his reflection

And noticed that he had a reddish complexion.

From the language that he had improvised

The sound “Adam” he then verbalized.

To him “Adam” meant “red,”

The color he saw upon his head.

Wherever he traveled, wherever he went

When he saw God’s Creation he said “excellent.”

He wandered for many a week;

Then one morning he heard a shriek.

He was as frightened as was Eve,

Another human to perceive.

A sound from his throat was then unchained

Which would not ever be regained.

It was amazing; a beguiling mystery

And the beginning of history:

Once an act is dispatched and done

Its memory is stored and lingers on.

He remembered the shriek as did she

And HE and SHE then became WE.

Each lonely creature reached for the other

And walked hand in hand like sister and brother.

The mystery of voice was tantalizing

And they spent many days speech analyzing.

Together they attached meaning to each uttered sound:

For events mundane, for adventures profound.

Together they would taste the rain,

Watch the moon on the wane.

Together they were awed by the golden sun,

And chirped with the birds just for fun.

They climbed the branches of the linden tree

Whose heart shaped leaves were poetry.

But the simian branches, now in the dozens,

Evoked tenderness and joy in their human cousins.

They gamboled like deer from place to place

And copied the gorilla in fond embrace.

Colors Eve saw in poignant hues:

Ambers, crimsons, and azure blues.

These were the colors of the fire on the hill

Which they daily watched just for the thrill.

One day they put a squash inside the heat

And found the squash warm and tasty to eat.

They discovered what else can be done by the fire:

Melt things, fuse things, and make wet things drier.

Every day was another epiphany,

Revealing God’s Creative Supremacy.

There was so much to learn of God’s Sacred Plan

By Eve, the woman, and Adam, the man.

Adding words to their vocabularies

Blessed Creation’s awesome Mysteries.

How fragrant was the bed of spices

Step nearby and it entices

Each to taste the cinnamon, curry, thyme, and cloves

And to learn how to grow such treasure troves.

Their ears were filled with all kinds of sounds.

Like the crying of cats, the yelping of hounds

Whispering trees, and palm fronds clacking,

Hands clapping, wet lips smacking.

Birds chirping; stomachs burping,

Horses neighing; donkeys braying.

Lions roaring; ruminants bleating;

Water pouring, elephants eating.

Adam blew wind into the horn of a ram

Trumpeting a sound that awakened his lamb.

Eve cut thickets and twisted their vines

And decorated Eden in exquisite designs.

The Sun shone by day warming the land;

At night Moon and Stars glowed by God’s Command.

Day was the time to learn and see;

Night was the time for ecstasy.

They gathered old leaves into a heap

And lay upon them preparing to sleep.

Adam reached for Eve’s curly hair,

Smoother than silk and twisted with flair.

His fingers lingered on her swanlike neck

And his tongue licked a speck

Of pollen from an apple tree

That had been overlooked by a honey bee.

Eve placed her hand upon Adam’s head

And ran it through his hair of red.

Adam caressed Eve’s little ear

And kissed her eye trickling a tear.

At long last their mouths invented the kiss

And then they discovered the meaning of bliss.

The evening was cool and both trembled with chill;

They embraced one another and twisted with thrill.

They quivered;

They shivered.

Their hearts skipped a beat

And soaring in both were surges of heat.

Their love reached higher than the linden tree’s crown

Whose trunk was softer than eider down.

The two warm bodies combined as one

And what was begun could not be undone

His manly stamen, now tumescent,

Planted seeds inside her unfolding crescent.

First they communed

Then they swooned.

Together they sang of their moment sublime

That transcended Space and surpassed Time.

And they gave thanks to God who Gave life

To Adam, the husband, and Eve, the wife.

Jasmine blossoms perfumed the air

And nightingales were heard everywhere.

A host of Angels in heaven above

Sang anthems extolling connubial love.

And every woman, possesses the water,

Which nurtured Eve, God’s first daughter.

And every man to this very day

Carries within him Adam’s DNA.

The First Dawn

Slowly slats of sunshine broke through the dark

And songs of morning sprung from the meadow lark.

Eve gazed at Adam; Adam stared at Eve

And together they said, “For the Blessings we receive

Thank You, God.” And at dawn they were renewed

And from each there did exude

Ribbons of bounty from Heaven above

Sent to Earth from God with Love.

And the two found it fitting to begin each day

Thanking God in the very same way.

And this legacy they bequeathed to all:

Listen with your heart to God’s Loving Call:

“Make this world a better place

And crown it with the glory of My Holy Grace.”

And so each day they improved Creation

And each night they sang songs to God with adoration.

Adam’s Fear Of The Dark

Adam watched the white sleek frames of crowds of egrets drifting in the twilight sky,

Ribbons of dappled crimson were turning gray.

A fear seized Adam that he was losing his sight he had not known the night before.

His heart beat faster than a fly’s wings; his hands were wet as rain.

In a panic he summoned The Maker.

After having seen Your magnificent Creation, am I forever to be in darkness?

Will I ever again see azure clouds? trees stretching their arms? birds in flight?

Will I ever again see mountain peaks? the turquoise blue of rolling rivers?

Will I forever be without light? Adam asked.

“Worry not,” God Calmed Adam, the darkness was made for sleep.

“Most living creatures sleep in the darkness then awake in the light.

It is their rhythm. Lions, sheep, elephants, crows have it among My Creatures.

This is your time, Adam, to sleep, to renew yourself.

Yours has been a busy day naming and cataloging all of the plants and animals.”

Adam prepared piles of thatch: one for him and one for Eve.

They laid their heads upon them.

Their eyes stared at the silver crescent glowing in the sky

And scanned the sprays of twinkling stars dotting the dark night.

As he listened to the coo-cooing of the owl,

And the wolves playful howl and the sonar pulses of bats on the prowl,

About to ask God why in the dark they must sleep

Angels into his eyes slumber did sweep.

Loss of Paradise: Version One

In the beginning of Time, it was thought, that the serpent was the slyest of creatures of the field. He said unto Eve, “even though God said that you should not eat of any tree in The Garden. taste it anyway. It is a delight.” The woman replied, “of the fruit of the trees of The Garden we may eat but not of the tree in the midst of The Garden.” And the serpent said you will not surely die. God Will Not Know that you have eaten thereof. Your eyes will be opened and you will know good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was a delight to the eyes and its fruit would make her wise. She ate and gave a taste to her husband. Then they heard the Voice of God. Gen III, 1–8.

The sly serpent, it is said,

Planted an idea in Woman’s head,

To eat of the fruit of the Tree

That would make her wise and make her free.

But instead of gaining wisdom

She and Adam lost their freedom

And would forever pay the price

Of their trespass in Paradise:

Both saw they were without any clothes

And shame colored their faces as red as rose.

Loss of Paradise: Version Two

Adam asked, “Eve where are you hiding? I’ll find you.”

A tortoise lumbered toward him and he climbed on its back.

They wandered hither and yon seeking Eve.

As the sun was setting over the azure sea,

The skies were turning orange and pink.

Then a red cloud passed by and opened its windows

Raining iridescent, beads of pearls.

Yellow finches swarmed about to catch them.

The beads dropped to the ground and grew into tall trees with spindly branches.

On each branch was a savory golden fruit.

Eve! There you are! Come out of hiding. Do not pick the fruit!

She ate. It was sweet! Its nectar burst in her mouth!

“Let me taste it,” he begged. “What ecstasy!!!

O God! What have I done? My hands tremble. My legs are frozen. My loins scream.

My arms are heavy with sleep. My soul is slipping away.

I am no longer Adam. I am Man. I am naked. So are you.”

Eve answered, “I lusted after the fruit but did not taste it

Until the sly serpent urged me to do so.

The serpent told me that he is the deputy of the Creator.

Whatever is in the garden is ours.

I bit the skin and sweet nectar trickled on to my tongue then down my throat.

My breasts titillated; my eyes sparkled;

My hands trembled; my legs froze.

I looked at me then looked at you

And we were both naked. I was so ashamed.

Lightning branches scudded through the blackened skies.

My arms are heavy with sleep and my soul is slipping away.

I am no longer Eve. I am Woman.

In the morning when we awake

We will pluck leaves from the umbrella plant and wrap ourselves in them.”

The two moved toward one another

Their skins tingled with the touch of the other.

Each bonded to the other in sensuality, joy, and shame

Then lapsed into fitful sleep.

When the sun melted the night,

Adam awoke. Eve was no longer next to him.

He called to her. His voice trilled like a flute echoing throughout the valley.

“Where is your hiding place ? Are you behind a rock?

Come out. Let’s gambol by the stream

Let’s stand beneath the waterfall and wash away the heat of the morning.”

“My hands will comb your silken tresses.

My lips will taste them; my nose will sip your delicate fragrance.

Your gazelle pines for you.

The zephyr rises and will cool your breasts.

Let us again drink of the sweet nectar of the peaches.”

Adam was no longer in a familiar place.

Eden was a dream that evaporated.

Eve stepped out of the woods clothed in the leaves of the umbrella plant.

She handed Adam a leaf to conceal his loins.

Hand in hand they walked away from the Valley of Yesterday.

God’s Angry Words etched in their brains followed them throughout the day.

“You disobeyed My commandment. Enmity will divide you from others.

With ebbing strength you will sow your seed and reap your harvest.

With the sweat of your brows will you eat your bread. Your sorrows will multiply.

Never forget your disobedience and err never again.

Teach your children to obey My Words and their children will learn from their example.

You and your children will know no rest until, lifeless, you rejoin the dust of Earth

From whence you sprang. From dust you came and to dust will you return.

You are blessed and you are cursed.

The bridge between us is broken.

You and all of your descendants will spend their lives repairing it. I Am God. “

The Asp’s Lament

The lowly asp slith’rd slowly down

The Tree of Life in Eden’s Wood.

Slinking through the rock-strewn path,

Adam, First Man, of flesh and mind,

Of earth and sea, of joy and tears

Was teaching beasts God’s Moral Laws

Which he himself never fully understood,

Or without hope of reward,

Entirely practiced. Thou shalts; thou musts;

Do not; must not. But he and Eve

God’s Commandment ignored and breached

And with cunning projected blame

On guileless me. I, first victim,

In history accuse you Man

Of duplicity. The tale you altered

So you would look pure. You called me “snake”

In derision. What’s done is done!

I forgive you. Before losing

My power of speech, to you I say,

Admit the truth ‘though it may sting.

Could I, an innocent asp, with a brain inferior

Persuade you, man, with the brain superior

To disobey God’s Commandment?

For acts of your own design

You, alone, are responsible. Amen! Amen!

Lilith, Queen of the Night2

Lilith, Queen of the Night, slyly slithers into the human heart

And germinates seeds of passion

Sown by the Creator at the beginning of Time.

In a cosmic burst she opens the gates of carnal pleasure

And steals the blues, greens, and reds

Hiding within a black curtain,

Separating fleeing Apollo from Saturn’s grasp,

And mixes them as they coalesce

Into an epiphany of angles, lines and arching curves.

Percolating lightning, she twists tongues of orange flame

And flings them at Man and his Woman

Who helplessly writhe in pleasure

Enchanted, deceived, and destroyed.

She taunts us from the deepest recesses of our brains. We must resist.

The First Family: Version One

And the man experienced Eve, his wife; and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain,3 and said, “I have become a mother with the help of God. And once again became pregnant and gave birth to Abel, Cain’s brother. Gen IV, 1.

Adam and Eve under one another’s spell

Dissolved in passions neither could quell.

They coupled when the sun was bright

And coupled, too, while watching stars at night

Then within Eve’s most mystic place

A creature grew from only a trace

Of life. Her monthly blood stopped its flow

And she felt a heaviness down below.

Her pelvis was strong enough to withstand strain

As well as the movements of the unborn Cain.

But many a morning she’d wake up queasy

Whatever was happening was not easy

On her digestion. She began to worry

That Adam might catch it in a hurry-

The problem that within her was brewing.

So she asked him to stop what he was doing

And to pray to God for information

Or, perhaps, some confirmation

That whatever it was she was undergoing

Was within her realm of knowing.

She should, after all, understand her state

Given that she forbidden fruit once ate,

The one that on her bestowed intuition

Should have explained her indisposition

And her weight gain—but did not.

Adam prayed. God Answered the fact you have sought

Is this: within Eve a creature is growing

From the ecstasy you both were knowing.

One instant when fathoming her you did together conceive

A new life: one part Adam and one part Eve.

What features that creature will possess

I must confess.

I Cannot Predict because when sperm and ovum do their dance

What happens next is due to chance.

Eve will feel heavy, her breasts will swell,

And there are a few more things I must tell

You. Like a melon round will she be

And she’ll feel a strain about each knee.

This will make her walk like a duck.

But that is truly a stroke of luck

Because it means the child inside

Is growing long as Eve is growing wide.

Yet she will feel beautiful, just like a queen,

The first human mother that has ever been.

Eve sparkled with a rosy glow

As her hand guided his to show

What they both had done

One moment under a palm tree shading the sun.

There was much to do to build a nest

And furnish it with the very best.

Trees to be cut and stones to be hewn.

Together they built a safe cocoon.

Then one day Eve felt an urgent strain;

There were tears of joy mixed with stabs of pain.

Dear husband she said drawing near is the time

For us to witness a moment sublime.

Rotating slowly, without making a sound,

The being in her womb turned upside down.

A head first pushed its way towards the light

And was sliding from her canal with all its might.

Eve pushed and puffed in the heat of the day

And a round hairy head inched its way

From between her legs. It’s a pear with hair

Adam said of him who was to become his son and heir.

But Eve was dizzy with sweat and pain

From the arduous effort as well as the strain

Of giving birth. Her mind conjured images of the garden fruit,

The seductive serpent, the eviction, and the route

Out of Eden. But the memories were jumbled.

The images were clotted and Eve’s lips mumbled

Thoughts which were spinning, spinning, spinning

In her brain like a circle without end, without beginning.

When it seemed that her energy was spent

She touched Adam’s face who over her was bent.

Suddenly there was an urgent rush

And the child oozed out in a reddish gush.

Eve shouted Thank you God!

With a palm frond Adam sawed

The cord that connected mother with child.

He knotted the cord and smiled.

Then he stroked the child’s back. It expelled

Mucous that within its mouth had welled.

It breathed a hardy cry

Resounding as it spiraled toward the sky.

Adam mopped the brow of Eve, his love,

With a patch of wool Sent from God Above.

He washed the child and wrapped him in a leaf.

Amazed beyond belief,

It’s a miracle, he said to Eve

For us to receive

A child who is one part yours and one part mine

Sent to us by God Divine.

They held each other’s hands to pray

To God for the blessing they received that day.

Thank you God for the gift of life

That grows from the love of husband and wife.

Eve cradled the babe in her soft, warm arms

And sang to him with all of her charms,

“May peace and goodness into your being flow,”

And the voice of God Whispered, “Let it be so.”

The First Family: Version Two

And it came to pass, when the number of humans expanded and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were appealing and they took them as wives. God Saw the wickedness of mortals was great and every idea they had was evil. Gen VI, 1–2, 5.

The Garden of Eden where two humans dwelled,

Was filled with sweet ambrosia they daily smelled,

What a time of grand delight,

Filling cups with joy by day and night.

The Creator Said,” Obey My laws

Stray not for any cause.”

But the humans tested the Divine Command,

And were sent away from the exotic land.

Together the humans worked the stubborn soil;

Blistered hands, reward for toil.

And when the land blossomed into flower,

They gave thanks to God’s All Mighty Power.

Adam and Eve loved each other.

First came Cain and then Abel, his brother.

Each brother planned his own survival

And soon became the other’s rival.

Cain farmed the land; Abel tended sheep.

Abel carded wool and Cain had grain to reap.

Each sought to be the one to be pleasing to God

And to be the only one God Would Laud.

One day in a fit of rage,

Which he could not curb or at all assuage,

Cain struck Abel upon the head.

Abel fell down and lay there dead.

God Wept for Abel, a righteous son,

And Scolded Cain for what he had done.

Cain heard the words, “It is wrong to smite

Whether one is wrong or another is right.”

But God Wept for Cain, a faithful son, too.

Whose act of murder he would always rue.

Sorrow to both at that moment were wed

But would never bring back Abel who lay there dead.

Cain then wandered from land to land

To find relief for his reprimand.

There were no words that would him console;

There was no mercy for his sullied soul.

Adam and Eve, filled with grief,

Grieved for their sons without relief.

Their sadness cast deep a spell forlorn,

Until to them another son was born.

Seth, their son, became heir to the land

Beyond the horizons his eyes had scanned.

In turn, he willed it to the-yet-to-be-born

The jewels who would God’s Crown adorn.

Endless Empty Echoes of Murder

When Cain and Abel were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother and murdered him. Gen IV, 8. The story is said to be based on the Sumerian legend of Inanna, chief goddess, which represent the conflict between farmers and ranchers. Dumuzi, belligerent god of the shepherds, competes for her attention with Enkimdu. the easy going god of the farmers. Enkimdu tells Dumuzi to marry Inanna and then wanders away. In another version of the legend Inanna has Dumuzi murdered.

The thematic similarities of the Sumerian and the Hebrew legends are inescapable. Themes of belligerence, placidity, and murder are present in both stories although Abel, the shepherd, is the pacific one and Cain wanders away. At another level this is an allegory of good and evil found in some form in many cultures.

According to the Qu’ran urged on by a raven Cain buried Abel. Cain regretted his action. [al-Ma’idah: 27–31], In the Gospel according to Matt XXV, 35 Abel, the first martyr, is regarded as righteous. He is also mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

A tear dropped a million years ago from a mother’s eye

And fell into the sea of grief where mothers go to cry.

Eve, urmother of us all, having borne two sons in woe

Fed them from her milky breasts from which mother love did flow.

She taught them to accept God who Created everything

And from their abundant bounty a thanks offering to bring.

Abel offered fattened sheep; Cain, scraps of the field.

When God Favored Abel’s gift, a rage in Cain reeled.

Cain grabbed a pointed rock and crushed his brother’s skull.

Abel slumped to the ground- bloodied, lifeless, null.

Eve’s eyes filled up with tears, bitterly she cried.

He who swam inside her womb lay lifeless by her side.

Her fingers touched the bleeding wound, then caressed the breasts that fed

The innocent shepherd, Abel, now prostrate before her dead.

Cain reached out to touch her hand but, heartsick, she turned away in pain

And staggered to be free of him who had his brother slain.

Cain raised the rigid corpse onto his sweating back.

And blood droplets dripped from the skull that sustained the crack.

He walked in sun, he walked in rain; no shelter did he find

A heavy heap of Abel lay on his shoulder and on his mind.

Cain wandered east of Eden, his sorrowing shoulders sagged

With his rigid brother Abel, a burden to be dragged.

Cain shrieked, “Forgive me “every night in terror-dreams.

But Abel made no sound at all ‘though Cain heard explosive screams.

Weary worn at dawn he’d ‘wake and traveled by the light,

And fought off attacking vultures until dusk met the waiting night.

The stench of Abel filled the air, no longer could Cain a morsel eat.

He felt his strength was ebbing and a swelling in his feet.

His back was bent and drooping low when his feet toyed with the sea

And as he stepped into a wave Abel slipped off quietly.

Cain was not aware that Abel had dropped into the deep,

His shoulders sensing a heavy load causing him to creep.

He crawled along the edge of Time although the light was dim

And saw his mother Eve and toward her began to swim.

“Mama, mama, comfort me ! “I’m dying for what I’ve done.”

Cain pleaded with Eve losing another son.

But Eve trembled and turned away, her body in a chill.

There was no mercy for a son who would his brother kill.

Cain’s keening filled her ears and ever lingered there;

On her face were bitter tears; in her soul was deep despair.

For one full year did she mourn;

Then a third son to her was born.

Torrents of joy purged her grief

That had stolen her bliss like a thief.

The Beginning of Evil

When families on earth became more abundant, divine creatures noticed the beauty of the daughters and married them. Gen. VI, 1

When the sons of the heavenly creatures

Looked upon the daughters of mortals

Their hearts pounded with delight

And their knees melted from passion.

They took these daughters as their wives

And from their offspring proceeded evil

But also Forces of good from the Mind of God

Which was the template of mortals.

And forever would evil and good contend.

Fruit of the Womb

From the seeds of passion’s flow’r buds of joy unfold and smile at the world about.

The fruit of the womb ripens exuding beauty unparalleled in the past.

Eve Muses at Adam’s Decline

Eve bent over Adam and lovingly drew his eyelids closed, her own eyes wet with grief.

She drifted into nostalgia. How many tides, she mused,

Has the moon pulled in its journey through our lives.

How many sunrises have there been to bring on the day;

How many sunsets brought on the night. Time deserts us.

Brushing wisps of his sparse silver hair, she spoke to Adam, his face blue with death,

These past few months have been especially hard for you,

Your manhood was stolen; your incontinence, embarrassing; your nausea, constant.

The little you ate came back. Remember how tenderly I washed your face

And changed your clothes? Your cough still echoes in my ears.

I hear each rasp. Then fright returns to me.

Staring at me blankly, you seemed to be asking, “Who am I ? Where am I?

How did I get this way? What will happen next?”

The man I admired has shriveled. Your mind was confused,

Filled with forgetting yet recalling what never happened.

You blamed God for Entrapping us to sin in the garden.

You thought that Seth murdered Abel

And that it was he who wandered East of Eden.

When he came to visit, you called him Cain.

We both knew that meaning had drifted out of your life.

You were languishing in a river of forgetfulness and drowning in a sea of anguish.

I wish I had eaten from the Tree of Life instead of from the Tree of Knowledge.

Maybe you would still be with me. But once done an act cannot be annulled!

Can anyone reverse History?

To cheer you, I told you stories about your kindness, your virility, your passion.

You smiled an empty smile.

How roused you were to pity when a frail horse had fallen along the wayside.

How your hands lovingly caressed my face, my arms, my breasts.

I swoon thinking about how beautiful it had been to make babies with you.

I felt young again. You nodded blankly. Did you understand the words of my heart?

How tender you had been to the infant Cain and later to the baby Abel.

Both drank of my milky breasts. I tingled with joy as they nursed at my teats.

You held each babe in your arms; in a voice like the nightingale you sang hymns to God.

How, frightened yourself, you confronted the wild cat poised to menace our babies.

When they grew up you taught them so much:

How to sow, how to reap, how to tend sheep, how to build, and, above all, how to pray.

How pained you were when Cain took Abel’s life away. You said nothing. You were wooden.

Can any difference between Children of God be so chafing as to justify murder?

We lost a child. What did Cain gain?

Marked by God, he wandered in fear, in guilt, and in grief.

You hurt, too, but you wanted to be with him to soften his pain.

They were such dear children. Heartaches they gave us, though.

They were a crucible mixing jealousy, strife, rage, and, above all, love.

Seth made up for the two of them. We could count on him to make us smile.

The jokes he would tell about the tiger and the leopard.

And he made us feel proud, too. So gentle, so methodical, so wise.

Abel never left your mind, though.

You must have been sensing your oncoming death,

Hugging a dead donkey lying along the path and calling it Abel.

Your eyes clouded up and droplets of tears fell to the ground.

I, too, had a foreboding,

But I did not know when would be your last breath.

God Keeps us guessing, or, perhaps, Has us cling to a thin thread of hope

That we still can be of use tomorrow. We are to make every moment count.

And how useful you had once been! Your hands were not always so calloused.

In Eden they had been as smooth as rose petals.

After we were evicted, they became rough making axes

And calloused felling trees, stripping bark, building a home.

How arduous it was to break clods of earth, muddy from the seasonal rains.

But you did all those things.

By the sweat of your brow did you plant and reap grain.

By the sweat of your brow did we eat bread.

Then there were sheep to shear and clothes to sew.

How cleverly you planned for the cold and the drought.

You did all things without complaint and with no thought of receiving praise.

Praise God, you would say. Thank God, you would proclaim.

It was for the family’s welfare that you labored.

Then you were chilled. When you trembled I warmed you with an elephant leaf;

Then you trembled and I rubbed your arms with lamb’s wool.

Then you lifted submerged feelings sleeping since the loss of our boys

And grew agitated with agony and morose with melancholy.

Then your brain exploded. Your thoughts scattered hither and thither.

Your mind was chaos. Your heart stopped beating and your face turned cold.

Ours was True Love and I will cherish your memory until stars lose their glitter.

Eve kissed Adam’s stone, lifeless lips and sobbed, “good bye my best friend.”

Out of Evil Cometh Good In Time

And it came to pass that Cain left the Sight of God and drifted to the land of the wanderers, east of Eden. And Cain made love to his wife and she became pregnant and bore Enoch. Gen IV, 16–17.

The penitent Cain took a wife who begat Enoch

Whose son, Irad, cleansed his father’s sin and begat Mehujael

Who cleansed his grandfather’s sin and begat Methushael

Who cleansed the world of his great-grandfather’s sin and begat Lamech, the pure,

Who begat three sons who expanded God’s Creation:

Jabal bred horses and cattle;

Jubal taught the world to play the harp and flute;

And Tubal worked bronze and iron.

From these three grew economics, art, and science.

Noah, the Hero

In ancient Greek lore the hero, either a human elevated to the status of the divine or a demoted divine, was revered as a demigod. Often he was perceived as a ghost to be appeased. In contrast the hero in Biblical literature was no demigod nor someone to be feared. Noah is the exemplar of the Biblical hero. He was a man righteous in his generation but fallible. To the ancient Hebrews, heroes were persons of valor. As humans they erred but as heroes they transcended the ordinary.

From the very beginning the humans that God Created had cavorted with truancy. Adam and Eve were disobedient and Cain took his brother’s life. Generations to come developed the arts and technology but they also lived by stealth. Jealous of one another the farmers tried to vanquish shepherds. It is apparent that the species God Created could destroy itself. God, according to the Bible, Became so repulsed by humans that Creation was inundated by a flood.

The Flood legend is found in many cultures ranging from the American Indian to the Icelandic and to the Chinese and Japanese. Closest to the Noah tale is the Sumerian. King Ziusudra is forewarned about the impending flood and builds a boat. There is a deluge after which Utu, the son god, appears. Ziusudra is saved and offers sacrifices to Utu. This tale made its way into the famed Epic of Gilgamesh. Although the Noah tale may have borrowed some of the essentials from the Sumerian, the Noah version has a different argument: Noah was spared so that a new and more moral civilization would take root. Noah made a sacrifice, too. God, however, Regretted having Flooded Creation and Decided never to repeat that error. However, even after the flood waters subsided the descendants of Noah did not cleanse their weaknesses to evil. Noah, righteous in his generation, got drunk and had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law. He, too, was fallible. Thus the ending of the Noah story confutes the beginning which says he was righteous in his generation.

Noah Receives and Gives

Noah’s father, Lamech, a direct descendant of Adam,

Sat face to face with his son

As they fished in iridescent waters

That would later overflow in heavy rains

And related to him the history of the world since Creation

As his father, the agéd Methuselah, had related to him

And as fathers before him related to their children for generations.

Each age had added to the history:

Their discoveries, inventions, tools, insights,

New emerging species of plants and animals,

Ongoing struggles, victories, defeats, hardships, triumphs, joys, grief,

Songs, stories, designs, crafts, trades,

And the trove of the family legends.

Noah learned how his forebears scribed speech,

Counted, added, found angle size, and measured time and space.

The gentle ripples of the water reflected who they had been

And who they would become.

So it was with Noah who sat at the river bank with his son Shem

After the flood.

“Look carefully at the arcing rainbow in the sky,” Noah urged Shem.

“The multihued bow is God’s Compact with us mortals.

Witness its Sublime Splendor;

Behold how the vaulting heavens fills with awe.

Never again Will God Flood Creation.”

What we must do, as God Taught Adam who taught his son, Seth,

And he to mortals since for all generations,

Is to revere with love the Creator and not worship false gods,

To respect life and take no one’s life,

To respect the sanctity of marriage and to shun incest,

To respect the property of others and rob no one,

To eat fruits, vegetables, cooked meat and fish but eat no flesh of a living creature,

To be merciful and judge every human fairly.”

And Shem taught these laws and human history to posterity.

Abram, direct descendant of Adam learned them from Terah, his father,

As they fished on the river banks watching the rippling, iridescent dappled droplets

Primed in the vaulting Heaven.

And he leaned them well.

Noah’s Tale: Version One

“Noah was a faultless man righteous in his generations who walked with God.” Gen VI, 9.

“Noah, Noah. Listen to Me.”

Noah felt a strange energy that wouldn’t let him be.

He howled a scream. A nightmare, no a dream.

“Noah, Noah. Listen.” Once again he heard a mystic sound

Within his mind and all around.

He left his bed, fearing his senses had fled.

I AM GOD, the Voice Declared.

Noah was awed but unprepared.

How can that be

That God would be Talking to me?

God Replied,

I Am always by your side.

Why Talk to me, Noah thought.

God Said, You are the one I have Sought:

Someone just and fair is hard to find

Then I Saw that you are gentle and kind.

Noah! Listen! This is what I Have Planned:

I Am Going to Flood the land

Because the people have defiled my Creation.

Everywhere I Look is abomination.

This is what I Ask;

And it is no simple task.

Build an ark strong enough to sail

In seas of a blustering gale.

Noah obeyed God’s Command;

Before relentless waters filled the land

He gathered creatures two by two

Those that walked and those that flew.

And they all entered the ark:

Creatures light; creatures dark.

His family came on board

As the rains gushed and pored.

After many days the creatures were uneasy

And more than a few became queasy.

Because the ark was rocking in each swell

And from the gasses dead fish expel.

Noah kneeled and started to pray,

He hardly knew words to say.

Then these words left his mind

They were the only words he could find.

Dear God Show us Mercy this day

To Forgive is Your Way.

Stop the rain; dry the flood.

Send a wind to scatter the crud.

A spume of water began to subside

And here and there the land was dried.

No longer was there a storm

Instead the sun shone and it was warm.

All beheld a curved beauty bowing above

Every color Sent by God Above.

Noah took a dove in hand

And asked it to scout out the land.

Very soon back it flew

With an olive leaf dipped in dew.

Mrs. Noah raised her voice

With prayer did she rejoice.

Noah, with his mission ended,

Saw that the creatures each other had befriended.

And that generation of Creatures found release

And for many years lived in peace.

Noah’s Tale: Version Two

When the world was still young in years

And each land was probed by pioneers,

New plants and creatures were still arising

In lovely forms, at times, surprising.

Some years the hot sun burned the land

And dried the rich soil to sparkling sand.

In other years the rains each day

Would wash the roots of crops away.

During the times with little to eat,

Life was bitter and rarely sweet.

But instead of working with one another,

People cheated and robbed each other.

They were greedy and selfish as well,

Their very own children they would sell.

This is not what God Had in Mind

When the humans Were first Designed.

Then there arose within God’s Plan

A humble hero, a righteous man.

This modest mortal, Noah, his name,

Who sought no glory and sought no fame.

God called to Noah, “Listen with care.

A flood will come. You must prepare.”

Noah felt a shiver. His spine was a river of chill

When called upon to serve Merciful God’s Will.

God Had Planned to bring on a flood

And Bury the sinners in heaps of mud.

At God’s Command, Noah built a ship

And brought provisions for the trip.

All manner of life did he take,

From land, from sea, and from the lake.

The only mortals who would be saved

Were Noah and his kin who were not depraved.

Then walls of rain fell in force;

Noah wondered what was to be his course.

But God Showed Noah what was to be the way

And Noah went forth without delay.

After many days the spastic waters abated

As Noah’s crew anxiously awaited.

And as the waters purled placidly along

All on board sang a song

“We thank You God for rains suspending

Bringing us to our journey’s ending.

We pledge to You to repair Creation

And treat each other with toleration.”

After the days of endless rain,

A brilliant sun dried the muddied terrain.

It is but a mirage said his wife.

No replied Noah I see signs of life.

A honeyed coo rose from a dove of peace

And with Noah’s caress was given release.

The dove went forth, his journey brief,

And returned to Noah with an olive leaf.

This was a sign that to all revealed

That the liquid land had finally healed.

When the ark docked the sky turned blue

And all left the ark to start life anew.

Abram Leaves Home and Becomes Abraham

God said to Abram, “depart your country, leave your kin, and your father’s home and go to a land that I Will Show you. You will have many descendants and they will become a great nation. I will Bless you and you will be well known. Gen, XII, 1–2.

Ur, city of the moon goddess,

Was no longer a haven to Terah, Abram’s father, of Noah’s line.

He gathered his family, collected all possessions,

Crossed the river and trekked to Haran, a new moon away.

They journeyed through the blistering heat of the day.

Sand storms blinded the eyes,

Heavy rains soaked through the skin, and freezing night cold chilled their bones.

Haran was an oasis. Merchants gathered there and sold their wares.

Terah grew rich fashioning gods to satisfy all worshiping leanings.

The people welcomed the newcomers.

The newcomers had arrived with wealth

And there increased their fortune.

The people trusted them because they were kind and just.

If anyone was in need, the newcomers, the river crossers, the Habiru, gave freely.

The newcomers, the river crossers, the Habiru, knew ways to settle disputes

That always split one mortal from another.

Abram was gifted with wisdom and compassion.

And many sought his counsel.

Abram questioned his father on the divinity of molded clay and shaped wood.

“How can an inert moon reflect sun light and yet control our destinies?

Could your idols found the world?

Could your idols create animals, plants, and mortals?”

“They offer solace, hope, and fertility to their owners,”

Was his father’s reply. Abram did not accept his account.

He had been awe struck by God’s Mystic Design.

He sought to understand the marvelous onset of the cosmos.

Then, deep within him a Soft yet Stalwart Voice Rose and Called “Abraham, Abraham!”

Abram replied. “Here I am.”

“Henceforth you are to be called ‘Abraham’.

Because you will become the father of many peoples

I Have Given your name an extra letter to raise your rank.

That letter, H, is a Part of Me, and is My Gift to you to Crown your name.

Henceforth, Your wife Sarai, will be called Sarah, a princess.

Then the Voice Instructed him with these words,

“Gather your courage and go forth from your father’s house.

Go hither to the land I Will Show you.

To your offspring will I Give this land.”

Abraham, clad in God’s Everlasting Love,

Bade farewell to his father.

He took his possessions, his dear wife and princess Sarah, and his nephew Lot

And followed A Spark of Divine Light, his Compass,

From one land to another, until he stopped at Canaan, home of the Hittites.

There the Divine Voice Spoke,

“To your offspring I Give this land. Be fruitful and multiply!”

At that place Abraham built an altar dedicated to the Glinting Light

Which he knew to be from God.

But his wife, his beloved, his princess, his Sarah, was barren.

She was without child.

Abraham spoke to “God” and asked how can he have offspring with a barren wife.

“Be patient, Abraham!” God Urged him.

And Abraham told Sarah of his conversation with “God.”

She guffawed. “How can I an old woman, nearly ninety, become a mother?”

Abraham searched his mind to find answers but they were beyond his knowing.

In the meantime he took Hagar, Sarah’s maid servant, and she bore him a son.

In time a swollen bud of love enlarged within Sarah

Into a curve, splendid like the rainbow that Noah witnessed after the Flood.

In time the bud of love had its own existence and was named “Isaac,”

To remind her that once she laughed at God. And now God Laughed back.

Sarah, the Matriarch

And the Egyptians beheld the Sarah and admired her beauty. Gen XII, 14

Her countenance was comely

Her mind was razor honed

And the fiber of her spirit,

With Mercy had been Toned.

Daily would she talk with God

Who Listened to every phrase

And Heard the language of her heart

And Praised her gentle ways.

One day Sarah heard A Call

As if in Mystic Dream,

Leave Haran with your man

And follow My Sacred Beam.

Abraham heeded his wife’s advice

And left Haran for good

And traveled toward an unknown land,

Hopeful of fatherhood.

Sarah arranged the journey

She knew what was the way

Because God Had Showed her in her Dream

The road so’s not to stray.

In every land where she set foot

The people extolled her brain

And she would greet them regally

With a simple refrain,

God Is in every heart

To Make Humanity pure

And Crown Creation with decency

And every ill to Cure.

Sarah showed the world that beauty

Is not a flawless face,

Not ruby lips nor henna hair,

But Kindness born of Grace.

She taught the world

That majesty is everyone’s right and claim;

All it takes is valor

And a noble aim.

The Fate of Sodom

God Said, “loudly wail the Sodomites for galling are their sins.” Gen XVIII, 20.

The people of Sodom, renowned for guile

Attacked every stranger in ways quite vile.

They robbed, they knifed, and set homes on fire

And against their own kind would often conspire.

“They’ve scorched my land,” God Tearfully Spoke,

“And defiled what is sacred just as a joke.”

God Urged them to treat Creation with kindness sincere,

But they just jabbed at strangers and provoked intense fear.

God’s Commandments the Sodomites ignored,

No matter the Mercy with which they were Implored.

God Judged it best Sodom to Raze.

To rid the world of its hurtful ways.

Was such a verdict just and right?

God Dispatched Heralds to Sodom before the fall of night.

They stayed with Lot, Abraham’s kin,

Who, though better than most, was not without sin.

They Sought proof that Sodom should be saved.

But what They found, instead, was a community depraved.

The saddened Envoys Found no reason to believe

That the people of Sodom deserved a Reprieve.

In fact the people of Sodom set out snares

Against anyone whose ways were different from theirs.

They banged at Lot’s door to kill the Envoys God Sent,

But Lot drove them away to thwart their ill intent.

With heavy heart, God Decided the fate

Of the city of evil and exporter of hate.

God Thought the matter over. It was carefully reviewed.

Then Told Abraham how Sodom would be Subdued.

“Abraham,” Reported God, “Sodom will burn.

I must be Just but I must also be Stern.

Let all peoples learn that God Despairs

Of those who harm others of ways differ from theirs.”

Abraham knew Sodom was a blight on the land

But destruction would reduce Sodom city to mere sand.

Why raze a city and kill both the good and the bad

Abraham asked himself in a mood that was sad .

Humbly Abraham asked if God really would Waste

Those who are guilty as well as those who are chaste?

He asked God if, perhaps, fifty righteous were found,

Would Sodom still be burned down to the ground?

God Replied, “if fifty righteous were found,

Sodom would not burn to the ground.”

“Were the number of righteous but forty-five,”