By the Sound of a Voice

By the Sound of a Voice

After a long silence that seemed

An eternity,

There came a turbulent noise,

A spirited noise.

No, it was a voice,

A loud voice

Lashing up a storm,

Singing intense, singing hot.

And in the violence

Of that voice,

Whirled seeds of sound,

Fragments of sense,

Half-words,

Commas & accents,

Rhythm & image,

Inclining towards poetry.

And the LORD bent

His ear

To hear spoken

The moon & sun & stars –

And there was a dark saying too,

Sung by a serpent’s

Long tongue

Hissing –

And God, judging the sun

Beauty

& the serpent

Sublime,

Pronounced it all

Very good.