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At The Birth Of John, Called The Baptist
[after Luke 1]
When Zechariah saw his temple vision,
it left him mute and dazed---a sad condition.
We took him home, and there he wrote about
this penalty for disbelief and doubt:
his own failure had brought him to this state.
Some thought it was an old man's stubborn pout.
But it was new repentence, not too late
for that, so he could now appreciate
the angel's message of a miracle.
After the birth, some relatives disputed
the child's name. Zechariah stood, refuted
them all by writing this---"His name is John,"
and suddenly, his mute silence was gone.
He started singing to the Lord in praise
of God's mercy and kindness, always full
of gracious blessings to the end of days.
After all this exciting celebration,
my flesh began to squirm for a libation.
So I walked to the tavern for a drink.
A brief, warm rain had turned the street to mud;
and some old dung smelled worse than monkeys stink.
I paid in coin; the smug innkeeper put
a cup before me, and I tried to think
about that old priest's words, and what they meant.
An adolescent girl drew near the bent,
weak light---red on the floorboards like spilled blood---
and, there, danced, nearly naked and barefoot.
Starward
[jlc]
