The Whale

the belly of the whale is the womb
the walls enclose
comfort nurture envelop
feed the soul

the belly of the whale is not the womb
the walls enclose
burden deprive suffocate
starve the heart

when we cast lots during the storm
i prayed for my fate to be thrown
into the ocean of despair where perhaps for once
i could find the peace from the thirst
that had long plagued me in this desert we call life

within the waters i struggled my eyes blinded
by the storm of my tears, blinded by the anguish
of the waves of my despair which prepared me little
for the darkness that became my solace and my prison

within the belly of the whale with much time to think
and listen to the voice of god promise forgiveness
for the sins of a man’s life i finally understood
what it meant to take up the staff and walk the path
with the peace and vengeance of his message in my heart

but now at the gates of the city of ninevah
i hesitate before the next step that will change the fate
of those who now sleep without knowledge of my entrance
and which will alter forever the destiny of both them and me

i long once more for the comfort of the whale

while i shrink from the confines of its presence