Shabbat VII

And into the city came the flood and it wouldn't stop.
In came the water, suffering the fools,
Having no mercy on the righteous,
And what could they do to stop it?

"Close the city doors!"
Someone cried,
As the flood entered and ripped away houses.
Doors were in the streets with trees
And chairs and children.
"Someone shut the gate!"

So the guards strained and pulled
Against the flood, but the rush of flow
Was too much for their quickly wearying bodies.
They became tired.
"We need rest," they said.
And rest they were given.

A flash of light, a snap of the ropes,
And the flood was stopped.

And the people went into the street to gather the bodies,
Free at last from victimization
At their own hands.
For they had seen the flood coming and left the doors open.

Shabbat II

I was waiting at the edge of the water for hours,
Waiting for her to show up.
But eventually my brother came by
And asked me to join him in his boat
So that we could go out on the water to meet our father.

I looked around for a moment, wondering what was taking her so long,
But then I went with my brother
Because I knew I'd be back later.
So we went out on the lake
Where the sun made it warm as we reclined and watched the waves.

I think I took a nap at some point out in the boat,
As my brother and I talked
About everything that was good in life
And all of the good things to come.
When we headed back to the shore, I watched the life below

Sway with the moving waters. At the shore,
She had not yet arrived,
But it was all right,
Because we had rested.