It is the passover of the Lord

Haiku of readiness

God instructs Moses,

 

also his brother, Aaron,

 

there, in Egypt land.

You shall mark the year

 

from this month. On the tenth day

 

the action begins.

 

Tell all your people

 

to take a lamb, one per home;

 

or you can share it.

 

On the fourteenth day,

 

at twilight, all Israel

 

must slaughter their lambs.

 

Take some of the blood,

 

paint it on the doorposts and

 

lintels of your homes

 

Eat the roasrted lamb

 

with unleavened bread and herbs.

 

Eat all; burn the rest.

 

Eat it, fully clothed,

 

with sandaled feet, staff at hand;

 

ready to depart.

 

A terrible thing;

 

God is passing through Egypt,

 

killing all firstborn.

 

The blood is a sign;

 

death will pass over your house

 

when God sees the blood.

 

A remembrance day:

 

celebrate it ev’ry year.

 

God’s deliverance

 

A terrible tale

 

unless you’re on the winning

 

side; then you rejoice!

 

© Ken Rookes 2023

What shall I tell them?

Haiku for a calling

Fugitive Moses

finds himself in Midian;

marries, settles down.

Tending Jethro’s sheep

in the wilderness, comes to

Horeb, God’s mountain.

An angel from God

appears in a firey bush.

The bush is unburned.

Moses stops to look.

Well who wouldn’t? Quite a sight;

what is going on?

The Lord speaks to him.

Moses, take off your sandals;

this is holy ground.

It is I, the God

of your fathers: Abraham,

Isaac and Jacob.

I have heard the cries

of my people in Egypt;

I know their anguish.

I am sending you.

You will deliver them, take

them to a new land.

Must be a mistake,

God; you surely can’t mean me!

I will be with you.

When you bring them out

of Egypt you will worship

here, on this mountain.

What shall I tell them

when they ask, What is God’s name?

I am who I am.

Go to your people,

those Israelites in bondage;

say, I AM sent me!

© Ken Rookes 2023

A boy!

Haiku of survival

Time’s dust has settled,

Joseph has been forgotten.

They are guests no more.

Israel’s children

have prospered in Egypt land;

but now they are feared.

Israel’s children

are made slaves. They are oppressed,

and forced to labour.

Their lives are bitter,

they are treated brutally;

there is no relief.

Final solution

number one: kill all the boys

as soon as they’re born.

The midwives resist.

They explain: Hebrew women

don’t wait for midwives.

Throw them in the Nile,

those baby boys! But the girls,

you can let them live.

A boy-child was born.

His mother kept him hidden.

Three months. Too big now.

Made a reed basket,

floated it in the river.

His sister kept watch.

Coming down to bathe,

Pharaoh’s daughter saw the boat.

Her maid drew it in.

Surprise! It’s a boy!

You’ll need a nurse, said sister.

Can you find me one?

The mother was paid.

She nursed him. When he had grown,

took him to the court.

The princess raised him

as her son, named him Moses:

drawn from the water.

© Ken Rookes 2023

The big reveal

Haiku for siblings

We skip to the end

of the tale: the big reveal!

Joe and his brothers.

Great is the weeping!

The Egyptians, dismissed, hear

the sounds of Joe’s tears.

My father, tell me,

Joseph asks of his brothers;

is he still alive?

The brothers tremble,

knowing the wrong they have done.

What will Joseph do?

Joe draws them closer.

You sold me, but it’s all right;

the result is good.

God planned to send me

to this land to preserve life.

Now I rule it all.

Five more years of drought.

Bring your households to Goshen;

there is plenty here.

Go, tell my father,

tell him that you have seen me.

Hurry, bring him here!

They kiss and they weep;

this family reunion;

of forgiveness, grace.

© Ken Rookes 2023

Dreamy boy Joseph

Haiku of family strife

Dreamy boy Joseph,

 

flash coat setting him apart,

 

from jealous brothers.

 

They had good reason

 

to hate him. The favourite

 

dobbed his brothers in.

 

Israel sent him

 

to look in on his brothers;

 

found them near Dothan.

 

They saw him coming,

 

conspired to kill the dreamer;

 

blame wild animals.

 

Reuben intercedes.

 

Don’t kill; throw him in this pit.

 

That is what they did.

 

They stripped his flash robe

 

and put it aside. Could prove

 

useful, later on.

 

Some traders came by.

 

Better that we sell, not kill;

 

that is what they did.

 

Twenty silver coins,

 

the price of their brother; sold,

 

and bound for Egypt

 

 

© Ken Rookes 2023