Why me, God?

 

Why me, God?

Haiku seeking answers

He hasn’t cursed God,

but Job doesn’t hold back in

voicing his complaint.

It’s simply not fair;

I’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t

deserve this treatment.

Why is God hiding?

I want to argue my case,

hear what he would say.

I keep asking, Why?

I am upright, tell me, God,

why I must suffer.

God holds all the cards.

If he listened to me he’d

find me innocent.

But I can’t find God.

I look front, back, left and right;

I cannot see him!

I have had enough!

My heart faints. Let me vanish

into the darkness.

Ken Rookes 2024

Job

Haiku for testing

Wealth and possessions

have long been seen as proof of

a virtuous life.

Surely God blesses

the ones who are deserving!

Yes, but not always.

The poor are not blessed;

their poverty evidence

of their shortcomings.

The story of Job,

written to challenge. The good

don’t always prosper.

In the land of Uz,

so the ancient tale goes; lived

Job, a righteous man.

Blameless and upright,

bulk money, stacks of children;

Job had a good life.

God boasts about Job.

Satan calls his bluff. Test him;

let’s see what he does!

In but a moment

it is gone. Taken away,

the blessings withdrawn.

Job remains faithful.

God boasts again. Satan laughs;

I’ll really test him!

Satan inflicts Job

with sores from head to toe. Let’s

see what he says, now!

Job’s wife speaks to him:

Enough! It is surely time

to curse God and die!

Job replies:

The good we receive

comes from God, surely we must

accept the bad, too.

© Ken Rookes 2020, 24

Why do you strike me?

He spoke his truth in places
where all could hear,
without any concern for caution.
Recklessly trusting in the God he called Father,
his courage could not be questioned,
bringing its own accusation
to those who had compromised. The voice of integrity
receives an uncertain welcome.
Truth is an expendable annoyance,
a disturbing inconvenience
for those who worship at the altars
of power, wealth and fear;
it will be dealt with.
Speaking openly and passionately
of love’s primacy, the man is unbending,
apparently unconcerned about the consequences
of his unauthorised utterances.
When finally Jesus is brought to account
he answers with the same disregard
for the opinions of his accusers.
A local walloper in the service
of the chief priests and Pharisees
feels compelled to strike him on the face
for his presumed disrespect.
Why do you strike me
when I have said nothing wrong?
he asks on his own behalf,
and perhaps for the sake of the millions of innocent
speakers of truth
in the centuries before and since.
Hold firm, Jesus,
there is worse to come.

© Ken Rookes 2013