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Thursday 16 May 2013

Poems from the Monastery Two

Exodus 18 and 19

Zipporah, wandering bird
waiting in the tents of Yitro

Faithful to the wandering Jew
now crossing the Sea of Red.

She and her two sons, the
second, one of promise

Like Isaac, Jacob, second
but chosen-Eliezer-while

Zipporah weeps for Gershom,
passes the springs, not sharing

In the four cups of seder.
How long will this bird wander?

Moses no longer mere shepherd
but king, steps forward, taking

Yitro into his tent, the
mirror-image of times past.

The wandering bird is left
outside, the Kushite beauty

Separated, not loved, like
Sarah, Rebecca, or Rachel

Sisters in the Lord, sans gold
since the new Revelation.

Moses becomes God's eunuch.
The bird fades into the desert.