Bitter Water

 

photo from Pexels by artist James Wheeler

a poem by Joshua Brown

Two springs cast forth water lots

To see which would be favored

By the gods of the Mesopotamians

And the lots fell unto the wise

I could see beyond the wilderness

Into the vast expanse of desert 

And I saw a conspiracy of the gods

To choose the bitter one, the bitter

For the bitter one said "I am bitter."

And the pucker that it left drinkers

Contorted their faces, their faces.

Spitting on the ground so thirsty.

And the sweet one said not "bitter"

But cast about with empty words

Of love and equality among men but

Touched the sons of men injuriously

A god gave to the bitter waters

A branch, a branch to save all men

But the waters were bitter still

With the love of the Branch cast.

Hear this, all English speaking tribes

The Branch is the Son of man.

The children are the hearers with

Ears to hear the reproof of gods.

Ye cannot be bitter and sweet 

Together, for that is silly, so silly.

And incredulous to think that 

Earthen water should be sweet.

#poem #poetry #religion #selfknowledge #childhood #jesus #church #emotions #family #trauma 

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Thanks for reading "Bitter Water" which I wrote here, in Aurora, Colorado, along the Sand Creek. If you liked this poem, you should read some of my other ones, my most recent one is entitled "Shot by a School Shooter" and is about child abuse. Please be warned, there is a mention of rape in the poem.

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What is Bitter Water's inspirations?

One of the first inspo's is of course the Old Testament story of Moses and Marah. It's a pretty famous story amongst Christians and I'm assuming some Jews. Basically it's about some bitter water that Moses threw some wood into to make it drinkable.

Another inspo is Jesus himself and his insistence on speaking in parables. I think there's something extra valuable in the fact that Jesus spoke in so little literalness but with so much seriousness. 

Another thought that I pondered was actually homosexuality, and anti-pair-bonding heterosexual behavior and their destructive effects on empathy, reproduction and the cooperation of the sexes in general. 

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If you want to send me some art that this poem inspired or a letter about just how much you loved it, you can send me some snail mail at:

PO Box 172441

Denver, CO 80217