down in the flood

Revelation

Rejoice in Rainbows the Revival Preacher

Crooned, ring teeth suit Sales

Incentives from God,

a solemn promise He made to

                Us hapless Sodden Souls Adrift

                on eddies, weather eyes wary  

Never Again destroy the Earth

                this fragile sliding layer

                cake left to melt in the rain

In a Mighty Flood; setting us up, waiting a beat

                to deliver the grinning punch line,

                a Cat with God-given comedic timing

in a roomful of downy canaries-  

Next Time My Friends,

Next Time, eyes teeth watch agleam

He’ll skip the Deluge and Rain

Down Fire and Brimstone

to wipe the slate clean Once

And For All, a toasty fresh start, a gag that sailed

way over my head, a kid with a

crew in a pew on a Sunday night,

too dim to see the beauty in the bargain:

fire vs. rain

ebb tide vs. ash cloud,

choking with laughter many years later when I

                finally got the joke, the one He

                stole from Us, the one We

never get tired of hearing, the one about the

Cleansing Power of Fire

Of Purification by Flame;

Scorched Earth always good for a laugh here

                Standing waist deep

in the Big Muddy

This eternally messy, roiling river.