AFTER THE FLOOD
Mount Ararat holds a testament
of stories told in ancient texts,
and stories shared down generations;
the aftermath of catastrophe.
Place names are the remembering
of gratitude as the Ark was drawn out of the water[1],
and the place of the descending[2]
into the village of the eight[3]~
survivers making pilgrimage[4] to the site of sacrifice[5].
Noah's Ark is resting there upon the mountain,
in archeological insistance,
and science is confirming the reality
of God's Judgment and His mercy.
The Drogue Stones[6] bear the witness to Noah's great adventure,
The Turks placing tourist signposts[7]
so we may walk the footsteps
of Noah and his progeny.
AFTER THE FLOOD
(tanka)
do doves remember
their ancient elder flying
over flood ravage
then returning to the ark
with a twig of new-found hope
[1] Uzengili Town – This was formerly called Mahser, which means: To be drawn out of the water
[2] Mount Judi
[3] Kazan and today is called Goller.
[4] Ziyaret Dagi
[5] Nasar
[6] anchor stones
[7] Noah's Ark National Park, Turkey
The famous mountain where Noah came to rest,
ending the ecliptic flood, building an altar for time as test.
Flourished kingdoms at the upper Tigris grew,
Babylonia and Urardhu created powers to sew.
Persian legends refers the holy Vulcan as the cradle of human race,
Armenians built a monastery in honor to St. Jacob’s pace.
Mount Ararat as omnipresent and utterly elusive,
snow capped peaks imaginative conclusive.
Magical countenance almost not of this earth,
crisp air in endless blue white mountain infinite birth.
Center of legends, myth and story,
the fire God Vahagn stumbles upon Ararat with all gory.
Giving life to Tigris and Euphrates River,
pagans visited ghost of royal ancestor in shiver.
Armenians and their homeland of Kurdistan under fire,
centuries in war for nationhood and holy place entire.
Good spirits in distillation known as Ararat Brandy,
Sir Winston Churchill called his favorite tipple, ‘handy’.
No Arc ever found beside many tries on Mount Ararat still today,
keeping mysteries in holy books still at bay.
"Got any rivers you think are un crossable?
Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through?
God can do what no other power can do".
The lyrics to a song by John Wesley, a great revivalist
and accomplished song writer, speak to the practical SIDES
of our everyday LIVES and remind us that we are not ALONE.
Though at TIMES driven by stormy winds, and far we have ROAMED,
Our strong faith REMINDS us that we have not reached our HOME.
Figuratively, we all have crossed rivers once thought IMPOSSABLE
and tunneled through gigantic mountains once deemed UNTHINKABLE.
How many times have we completed missions and asked, "Did I do THAT?" Or what about the times you climbed mountains taller than Mount ARARAT?
Do you remember the time your job was OUTSOURCED to India, or 10 years ago when you went through a horrible DIVORCE? Although it hurt you to the CORE and left you bruised, SOUR, and SORE, you overcame all of that and MORE, because you were blessed with God's POWER which did for you, as Mr. Wesley said, 'what no other power could do'.
072520PSCtest, In Honor Of John Wesley, Kim Rodrigues
Noah's Ark
floundered at Mount Arapiles
laboured through Horsham,
Stawell and Ararat
run aground at Mount Ararat.
I am the Pharaoh
and you are my sparrow
piercing my heart
like the point of an arrow
good times, bad times
and the in between
all this for you
forever my queen
I ride the night train
like a vandal, restless
a certain night air
keeps me cool calm and collected
somewhat expressive
sometimes hard to find
a reason, to believe in
and keep me in line
For the tribulation
I receive little glory
thats not the moral
but the principal of the story
a foundation for tales
taller than mount Ararat
I carry my ghosts
no matter where I'm at
in life the up or the down
it all seems to be enough excitement
to keep me around
A pleasant smile flashes
keeps my heart warm
a question makes me fascist
like an unpredictable storm
I see what the math is
all adding to disaster
a controlled destruction
brings an end to this chapter
The Bible tells of many great men,
all who lived way back when.
Noah and his family built the Ark,
on Mount Ararat is where it would park.
(Genesis 8:4)
Abraham laid his son on an altar,
only to prove his faith wouldn’t falter.
(Genesis 22:6-12)
Moses parted the deep Red Sea,
so the slaves could go free.
(Exodus 14:16)
Joshua and his army marched around a big wall,
which around lap seven began to fall.
(Joshua 6:20)
David slew Giant Goliath with just one stone,
later to sit as a King on the throne.
(I Samuel 17:50)
Three Hebrew Children were ordered to bow and would not,
so were all thrown into a furnace so hot.
(Daniel 3:20)
Disobeying man’s law was Daniel’s only sin,
which landed him in the Lion’s den.
(Daniel 6:16)
There is always a price to be paid,
or a sacrifice to be made.
(Matthew 5:10)
These men are much the same,
for they all stood for Jesus’ name.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.