Disclaimer: This po-em is nowhere near being finished - the good folks that I count on to help me write (slash live) better are going to the lab with this one. More importantly than that - this po-em may be one of the more offensive pieces i've written recently....probably right up there with the crucifixion joint I put together awhile ago...But...this is what happens when you spend part of your Spring break at a seminary, discussing the theological implications of accepting "the gays" into your church.
And it came to pass that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul
~1 Samuel 18: 1
it has been said
King David
that you were a man after God’s own heart
from shepherd to sovereign as picture of the Christ
your people would one day come to scorn
did you ever stop to wonder
if the heart of God was even attainable
and what did the chasing cost
after filling the kingdom with concubine enough to suit your whim
did the wind still whisper his name?
did it call you up to the roof the night you first saw your Bathsheba
was she the first in years to make it possible to forget
did you see in her skin something like unto salvation
from the thing you could never confess to the priest
was that kind of peace worth killing for
how long did the armistice last
when Jonathan died
did you see in his boy
the child you should have raised together
his broken body a byproduct of your being absent
did you explain yourself to Solomon
the son who saw your share of women
did you tell him that they were the turtledoves you offered at the temple
that you were after the heart of God
that you had found it in a man
that you sacrificed your seven wives for a love you could not have
David
a gentle king
of strength and harp and psalm
was it worth it
to deny the lover of your soul
in pursuit of heart of God