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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PATIENT (11/25/21)
What could I say? Sunrise and sunset raced by like a hare outracing a jackal. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand of them. Sigh after sigh. Groan after groan. Blister after blister. And there was nothing to show for it.

I was there when we brought the first tree down. Young. Eager. Ready. Willing.

Now, the stand of timber lay stretched out like mown grass as far as the eye could see. The symphony of birdsong replaced by the hostile mockery of neighbors; the joy of discovery replaced by the mirage of a dream; the vitality of life replaced by the ache and pain of drudgery. And there was nothing to show for it.

I was there when we brought the last tree down. Older. Weary. Hesitant. Wondering.

Corruption and violence squirmed like a poisonous snake around us. We took the high ground, away from it all, yet it stretched for us, reaching, dragging away others who might believe. Chaos shrouded the smallest decency and delight into vile destruction. What hope was there for even the few?

I was there when we laid out the frame of our salvation. Maturing. Enduring. Frightened. Worn.

Righteous, blameless, faithful… what reward is this? To be the son of such a one when the world roars its disdain, it’s venom, it’s hate. The message eddies in my thoughts and dreams – day and night. “The end is coming!” and yet it never does.

I was there when we looked up toward the heavens. Trusting. Hoping. Daring. Wishing.

One hundred and fifty strides long; twenty-five wide – fourteen thousand trees. A million chops from fingers curled into circles of iron. A forest once anchored in the earth. Fastened together to sail the seas. What folly drives a fool to do what no one else has done?

I was there when we shouted our faith into the ears of the deaf. Pleading. Begging. Urging. Warning.

Crop after crop. Year after year. Harvest after harvest. We gathered and stored. Spending and being spent. Wrestling with whether there would be too much or not enough. What if dreams and visions lodged in the mind of a man gone mad?

I was there when we met to sift our doubts, our dreams and our desires. Questioning. Answering. Obeying. Wrestling.

Giraffe, zebra, hippo, elephant and rhino; dinosaur, gator, horse, monkey and dog; leopard, lion, bear, sheep and pig – one after another they come. A menagerie of snorting, howling, crawling, hungry hordes invading empty spaces with stench. And where is the one for me?

I was there, empty, when they came two by two. Longing. Dreaming. Scanning. Willing.

A mountain of wood on top of a hill – an endless walk from the seas. A tower of revelry to distract the emptiness and insanity. A ramp into a compliant zoo – seven pairs of clean animals, seven pairs of birds. A week until the end.

I was there when the last message was preached through the closing door. Fearful. Anxious. Relieved. Wary.

Straining to see through the eighteen-inch gap near the roof, reaching out to feel the first spit from the heavens. A darkening. Screams. Pounding on the outside. A promise fulfilled? More and more sounds of soft patters. More screams. A steady pouring. A waterfall. An ocean of water erupting from above, below, around. The first shifting, moving, drifting. A wild ride of terror.

I was there, hanging on for dear life – having nothing to compare this kaleidoscopic whirlwind to. Mind-numbing. Heart-stopping. Breath-stealing. Winded.

Running from room to room, floor to floor. Endless feeding, cleaning, helplessness. Endless pouring, trumpeting, roaring, chirping, neighing, braying, grunting, groaning. Flapping wings. Skittering feet. Napping. Holding, Quivering. Snatching a bite to eat and back again – room to room, floor to floor. An endless journey of restlessness.

I was there when the darkness closed in for day after day, week after week until the screams ceased, the rains ceased, the drifting went on and on and on. I was there when the winds came, when the waters drained, when the birds flew and when it all was over. When the covering came off and the rooms emptied.

I was there at the offering and when the promise was given and the seasons returned and the first rainbow shone. I was there. Celebrating. Breathing. Dancing. Worshipping.

I was there through it all. Willing. Wondering. Worn. Wishing. Warning. Wrestling. Wary. Winded. Worshipping. Not sure when it would end. Eager now for what the Creator has next.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Laurie Kiel 
12/09/21
What a wonderful retelling of the story we all know so well. I loved your poetic language such as “ Corruption and violence squirmed like a poisonous snake around us. ”. Beautifully written.