Poetry: Moses in the ICU

Moses in the ICU

You never left Sinai, not completely

You came down, broken radiance 

Hidden now in an antiseptic room, 

drawstrings on your hoodie pulled tight against the light

loosening slowly as you tell me about your desert wanderings

Kadesh-Barnea to the bitter waters of Meribah

excruciating hope in a sunrise

Zipporah beside you, breathtaking strength in the blood on a flint knife

protecting you even still

She can’t fight what’s inside you

You’re a climber, conquering mountains 

but it’s not the thin air that leaves you breathless now

no fear, radiant one

not even facing Nebo

But you would like to see your sons climb Zion

by Karen Martin