Pictures

Pictures

Isaiah 11:1-12

Prophetic pictures of justice,
peace and harmony
in an advent abundance;
tree stumps and shoots,
lambs and wolves,
calves and lions.
There are a few places
where such images occur:
upon artist’s canvases,
in poet’s verses,
within the songs of the innocent,
and in the ever-churning recesses
of the divine mind.
God, though, is no wide-eyed optimist,
having experienced first-hand
the depths of human fear,
vengeance and cruelty.
Still the Almighty has not stopped hoping.
In God’s mind, apparently,
is an idea;
bold and audacious,
waiting fulfilment from the beginning of time.
It is plan of deep wonder,
of sad beauty,
painful love,
and the unexpected leading
of a little child.

© Ken Rookes