Miriam

Date added: 29/05/2020

MIRIAM

Exodus 15.19-21

by Silvia Dimitrova

Who is this woman,

Tapping a tabor,

Rejoicing in song,

Elegant in beauty,

More than Egyptian?

Who is this baby,

Lifting his limbs,

Drifting in basket,

Floating on river,

Secluded in reeds?

Who are these men,

Walking together,

Bearing symbols,

Leading the way

Between fire and water?

Miriam, the prophet,

The shrewd saviour

Of baby brother,

Dancing, proclaims:

‘Sing to the Lord

Who has triumphed gloriously;

Horse and rider,

He has thrown into the sea.’

Moses, on the Nile,

Escapes annihilation,

Responds at bush of fire,

Foils Pharaoh’s ire,

Receives the Law in awe,

Accompanies Aaron, the eloquent,

Whose head and beard and robe

Will run with precious oil.

The Red Sea is redressed:

Waves of horses crest the waves,

Roaring, rushing, downing, drowning,

Trampling hostile oppression.

For God’s people, safely across,

Good things come to those who wait.

© Graham Kings, Nourishing Connections (Canterbury Press, 2020).

First published on Covenant Sept 2018.