The sound of thunder in the mountains.
Thamar walking in the garden,
A thorn in her heart:
A brother`s knife
Pressed deep into her naked belly
Spilling blood the colour of roses.
Incest was an Imperial custom
Sustained in Egypt - loathed in Judea.
Amnon lies dead in the valley,
The sister he raped
Is white with ashes;
The baby clinging to her shoulder
Chokes on milk tainted with wood smoke.
Thamar would have married her brother;
Would have smashed the emptied wine glass
Under her heel
As she made her vows.
But Amnon`s love had turned to hatred
Because she offered him forgiveness.
The sound of thunder in the mountains.
The cries of soldiers drunk on murder.
Sabres dipped in Amnon`s blood
Brandished at the waning moon.
Thamar weeps in the sheltered garden;
The baby clinging to her shoulder
Alienates her even from herself.
She has felt the shadow of the wing of madness
Freeze the nape of her neck.
Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
August 14th. - 15th. 2017.
September 29th. 2017.
Note. I prefer the spelling Thamar to the more usual Tamar. I was surprised to read that King David would have allowed a brother and sister, (his Children), to marry each other to protect the honour of the wronged woman. The baby only brings desolation.
Amnon lies dead in the valley,
The sister he raped
Is white with ashes;
The baby clinging to her shoulder
Chokes on milk tainted with wood smoke.
Thamar would have married her brother;
Would have smashed the emptied wine glass
Under her heel
As she made her vows.
But Amnon`s love had turned to hatred
Because she offered him forgiveness.
The sound of thunder in the mountains.
The cries of soldiers drunk on murder.
Sabres dipped in Amnon`s blood
Brandished at the waning moon.
Thamar weeps in the sheltered garden;
The baby clinging to her shoulder
Alienates her even from herself.
She has felt the shadow of the wing of madness
Freeze the nape of her neck.
Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
August 14th. - 15th. 2017.
September 29th. 2017.
Note. I prefer the spelling Thamar to the more usual Tamar. I was surprised to read that King David would have allowed a brother and sister, (his Children), to marry each other to protect the honour of the wronged woman. The baby only brings desolation.
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