OWL OF THE DESERT
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​Rulers of Sodom

​The Levite frowns at my offering:
Blemish, he says.  I see none, but
can you disagree with his authority? It is woven
into the linen veil of the temple mount.

His hand waves me away, rejecting
what I have chosen for slaughter.
Bleating, I am helpless as a beast watching
the eternal flame flicker upon the altar.

Wordlessly I lead my lamb
a stone’s throw away from the mercy seat:
my beloved blushes as I search 
for the spot perceived by the priest.

My fingers find no burr within the wool,
no broken bones.  The only defect is
my imperfect faith in the correctness
of the Levite’s choice.
          
The priest retreats into the sweet smoke
and frankincense he calls duty.  Secretly
I wonder, Can ground be hallowed
in the shadow of a broken law?
          
Come, see now the mount with holy sight:
its inner court obscenely varicose
with congealed fat. I delight
no more in the blood of bullocks.
            
My first fruits leads me beyond the wall.
Clean nor common are we, unburnt
after all the weary miles traveled
from Jericho.

Sons of Levi, what makes an offering
righteous? I do not turn, but hear
the whirring of a swarming cloud:
the fervor of four hundred and fifty prophets
praying:
       
          O Baal,
          hear
          us.

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  • Home
  • Poetry
    • Fleeing Egypt >
      • Tower of Babel
      • The Orchard
      • Tithing Settlement
      • Chastity for Churches
      • Sign
      • Cleaning House
      • Elijah
      • Rulers of Sodom
      • Beware
      • Two Churches
      • Beginning At My Sanctuary
      • Toll Road
      • Get it Strait
      • Corporation Sole
      • The Religion of the Circle R
      • Fig Tree
      • Eve
      • New Jerusalem
      • Shemlon's Shore
    • Ascending Sinai >
      • Ark
      • Sin of the Calf
      • An Idol Observation
      • Dew from Heaven
      • I love you, Elder Holland
      • Easter
      • How Sweet
      • Haiku
      • The Barn
      • Patron Saint
      • A Conversation with Brigham Young
      • Mine Testimony
      • The Meadow
      • The Gardens
      • Ice Fishing
      • Without End
      • Forest
      • Continental Divide
      • A Great Sacrifice
    • Promised Land >
      • Lanolin
      • Zion
      • Wisdom
      • Take Up Your Cross
      • Was the Sun the Same
      • Plain and Precious
      • Bridegroom
      • Faith
      • Amos
      • But First
      • Wax
      • Parable of the Piano
      • Repentance
      • Wake Up, Child
      • Cold Storage
      • Covered Wagon
      • Multiply and Replenish
      • Rollercoaster
      • The Baptist
    • Seven Stations of the Cross >
      • Jesus Condemned to Die >
        • Life Signs
        • Fashionable Religion
        • Tithing Declaration
        • A Pretty Important Detail
        • Jesus is All
        • Salt Lake Temple
        • Zion in the Lion's Den
        • High Noon
        • Bookmark
      • Jesus Stumbles and Falls >
        • Unveil
        • But Faith
        • Sifting
        • The Ballerina
      • Simon of Cyrene Bears the Cross
      • Women of Jerusalem Weep
      • Jesus Stripped of His Garment
      • Jesus Nailed to the Cross
      • Burial and Resurrection
  • Blog
    • Previous Posts >
      • 2023 Posts
      • 2022 Posts
      • 2021 Posts
      • 2020 Posts
  • About
  • Contact