Mugging GenesisA Poem by JoshuaA little ditty about getting kicked for contemplating a biblical passage.I got my teeth knocked out on the corner of Fifth and Main behind Lenny's barbershop, blood and enamel spilled on the concrete. Got my hip beaten out of its rightful place, bearded assailant renaming me 'b***h' in the process. You see I had been arguing through the impossibilities of Genesis during my cut, punished for it later with a punch in the teeth straight from the fist of an intoxicated messenger minutes after my neckline had been trimmed. Who was I to question accuracy in the comfort of a cushioned barber chair with flecks of hair falling down my back? Not too long later one molar rolled white against my eye-line, a memorial for being chosen by the nameless who took my wallet, I-phone, and I.D. Fifteen minutes earlier I had asked Lenny how a man copes with fighting God, how Jacob felt after his name was changed by the Nameless; Lenny held no answers. Lenny mumbled Genesis wasn't his to understand, that some things are simply faith. I had none. I needed experience, a way to identify with Israel's namesake. After all, Jacob had slid his arm under God's chin, beard tough as the skin of the earth beneath them. He twisted God into headlock and walked away with a limp and a new name. I shuffled from behind Lenny's shop that night, head down, pockets for hands, lips bloodied, reeling from the beating of my life, trying out my new nickname, and hobbling on my one good hip.
© 2011 JoshuaReviews
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5 Reviews Added on March 7, 2011 Last Updated on March 7, 2011 AuthorJoshuaCarbondale, ILAboutI am a writer. I am a traveller. I am a worker. I am a lover. I am a thinker. I am a student. I am a reader. I am a human. more..Writing
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