Covenant

Covenant

                      

                       I made a covenant with mine eyes.

                                      Job 31:1

We train our bodies to go through the motions

in the fond hope when time ends, they will not

have to learn everything all over again.

We learn silence, the lost art of the Incas,

who hid their gold so deep Pizarro couldn’t

find enough to fill the room.

His children keep looking.  When they give up,

the ghosts of the old world emerge from pillars

of salt.  Ghosts of the jungle join in chorus.  

Tinamous and owls find their way by the sense

of touch and wait for the dawn.  Birds quiet down,

something no one thought possible.

At last, light comes, so sudden everyone sees.

Some hide in shadows.  Others find caves.  But we

of the covenant step forth when we hear our name.

                              —Donnell Hunter

                                        31 March 2012