Odyssey
By Patrick T. Reardon
.
Face of God, name
of God, child death
in every home,
Egyptian, Israelite, Canaanite
— let people go —
sea split, walled water,
tabernacle and gold god,
frogs, lice, hail,
locusts, boils,
blood, blood, blood,
ten commands,
doorposts, manna,
rock water,
hard heart,
seabed, stiff neck,
wilderness, mountaintop,
light rays, cloud,
fire, treaty
— hold still
and see salvation —
flight, arrival, exile,
name of God, face
of God,
— wander alpha to omega,
from end to start,
from freedom to slavery
and back —
breathe, breathe,
breathe,
milk-honey land,
pox, pox, pox,
slaves, victims,
bodies,
new world, new nation,
manifest, faith,
creation,
garden,
empty, open.
.
And, then,
again.
…
Patrick T. Reardon
6.16.22
This poem originally appeared in The Write Journal, Issue 46, February 21.
Written by : Patrick T. Reardon
For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.