Punishment

 

Haiku to be avoided

A fallen woman

personifies the city;

weeping, abandoned.

She's been unfaithful

to God, and all her lovers

have abandoned her.

She was exalted,

a princess; now she's become

but a bond-servant.

The roads to Zion

mourn, streets are empty, no one

attends festivals.

Grieving and groaning;

she is a desolation.

Her lot is bitter.

Enemies prosper,

the suff'ring is great: even

her children are gone.

For her many sins

Judah is left desolate;

punishment from God.

There appears no hope

in images of despair.

For that we must wait.

© Ken Rookes 2022

Nobody listens

Haiku of desolation

Desolate pictures

of a land laid waste. We watch

as it is fulfilled.

A hot northerly

is bearing down upon us;

it does not relent.

Like stupid children

not knowing what is right; my

people do evil.

The earth is wasted,

and the skies bring no light; all

the birds have flown off.

What had been fruitful

will be desert, and cities

will be laid in ruins.

It won't be the end,

but the punishment must hold;

God's mind won't be changed

Nobody listens

to the voice of the prophets;

much to demanding.

© Ken Rookes 2022