Jael

Killing him softly: with a ballad

The humid night, thick as tar,

Dripping from a bloodied star,

Soaked me with a trembling dream

Of drowning in a silent scream:

I saw a man whose name was love.

Whose feet were love; whose hands were love.

I saw this man whose flesh was torn,

Whose head was pierced by brutal thorn;

And as my people cheered for blood,

He wheezed and wept: “My God! My God!” ...

 

I stabbed awake at early dawn

To find my husband armed and gone:

With lancing rain wailing down

And warfare shaking in the ground.

I, whose name they call Jael,

Have this, my story here to tell:

A nursling of the desert priest

Whom Moses shared the desert feast;

And heard it told from Jethro’s tongue

That God above, alone, is one.

Moses in those tents found life.

So I, a faithful Kenite wife:

On Kishon river, near the tree

Where Sisera, he came to me -

A whirlpool of sweat and mud,

Though tremulous of man and flood,

With dreadful veins and feverish breath,

He came to cower from his death.

“I’m thirsty”, gasped the mighty man

Who, once a monster, claimed this land.

 

Who once oppressed my people cold;

Now a frightful child: behold.

Beneath the boughs in Zaanannim:

I calmed and made a lamb of him.

I gave him milk for he was spent,

And lay him down inside my tent.

Beyond my door the rain had eased.

I sat beside him on my knees

And brushed the hair caked on his brow:

Sisera lay quietly now.

 

To my ear there came a voice

Most tenderly and with this choice:
“Love your Father, he loves you.

Love your enemy here now, too.”

Then all at once the voice was gone.

The sun above us warmly shone,

And with a workman’s hammer I

Sought to let the evil die,

And kissed him on the temple, kind -

Sisera: I changed his mind.

 

His temple, yes: I destroyed it.

I helped him, also, to restore it:

Nursling of a desert priest,

Who dreamed that love is deepest peace.

And yes, I pinned him to the ground:

Where the strongest roots are found.

Moses in these tents found life;

So I, a faithful Kenite wife:

Where Sisera, the beast, lay dead

But born, anew, his heart instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Recognising that the name 'Jael" was a composite of both the Hebrew word for God (El), and the Midian (Yahwey), and that the tent peg figures significantly in old Hebrew as both a vowel character and an archetypal function, I began to ponder that there is more to the Jael story than meets the eye... So I wrote this based on he biblical account given in the Book of Judges, chapters 4 & 5. and the notion that the commandments were known to these people at this time. "Thou shall not murder". I've written a number of pieces on this subject: this is one of the more basic of those.

Reviews

[BonnyRivers]

This is very powerful Charlie. The first two lines in particular gripped me. The image of the star dripping in blood is prophetic. Also, the play on the word 'temple' is very clever. Your impressive Biblical knowledge is translated perfectly through this piece. Joel, defender of Israel, example of tyrannicide, heroine? This reflects Artemisia Gentileschi's piece perfectly

[charlie]

Thank you for your feedback, Bonny. It is encouraging to have your kind response. I'll admit, I had to Google Artemisia Gentileschi. I found a painting by her which seems to depict Sisera's death in a very literal sense. I'm not so sure it happened that way, though... I have a counter-perspective ... for the moment at least.

[Beccy]

An interesting take, that sits easy on my mind; forgiveness being the very core of of humanity.

If only the Oak could talk...

Oh, and the poem itself is quite beautifully crafted.

Beccy.

[charlie]

Hi Beccy. Thanks for reading.