Jonathan Westler

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The Best Poem Of Jonathan Westler

Moses

The sea parted,
As if by Moses’ own hands.
To let the Semites out
And keep Egypt in.

Step by step,
Slide by slide,
The Semites leave their home
To escape from Egypt’s side

The sea turned an awful tan color
Under the beating of the setting sun.
It’s rays exposing the escaping Jews,
Rushing from what was once their homeland.

They spill out of Egypt into the sea,
Moses slicing through the water with power
Unknown to any other man
(Who gave him the right to this power?)

Rush, rush! Feet keep quick pace
Escape, escape! It’s go or die today.
Flee for your lives, or risk the infection
The plague, the death, the slavery of body and mind

Walls of water, hard as flesh wait on either side
Sweat, toil, exposed to the sun in a brand new way.
No longer will you slave under harsh masters
Can you keep up to escape to this new life?

Finally, the last is free and Moses'
Power, strong and clear and unbelievable
Lets the walls come crashing down on the pursuing
Slave-makers, old masters, whips cracking and bellowing for return.

It surges upwards, overflowing the old walls, spilling over
The Red Sea flows forth, returning to its old shape
Yet still, the littering of bodies, hundreds (maybe thousands?)
Raise its level ever-higher, the heated liquid overcoming its banks

On the other side, the man who lays claim
To God’s strong hand, sharp and cleaned of sin
Rejoices with his people
Escaped from slavery

Euphoric bliss flows through their veins
The chains of dominion, at last, are bust:
Their mind, will, and body now free of the
Infestation of the implanted slave-thoughts.

The sea, left behind in their passage to
A new home, a place to grow and prosper,
Glitters an ugly red color as it
Surges back and forth, it’s bounty to be devoured.

Over time the split is forgotten
Not even a faint difference noticeable
Except by the keenest eye
Will this happen again?

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