In Need of a Prophet

"As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
-------------[In need of a prophet]


a little oil in a cruse
a handful of meal in a jar, few sticks
a dinner with death (hes an angel)
baked bread to satisfy until I reach the other side
holding hands with my son

I live in a land forsaken
the clouds have dried up
under the simmering heat there is no wind
the more we fan our faces
the more we suffocate
and branches fall off trees while we pray:
save us from ourselves, from the tyranny of our cognizance
ranting “there is no hope in Zar’ephath”
nightmares are as sweet dreams because we cant sleep
the lions don’t foment fear anymore
it is the fear of the unknown
that most plagues me
and all the opportunities I missed to live my life
to its fullest

My trembling hands gather their last heap
these frail knees make their last journey
to the city and back to the house
and back to the house to breathe my last breath
to let the last tears stream down my cheeks remembering my husband
to dance outside with my boy
pretending its storming
and the rain is soaking our hair







1 Kings 17: 7 - 16
And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him, "Arise, go to Zar'ephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you." So he arose and went to Zar'ephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." And Eli'jah said to her, "Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel, `The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" And she went and did as Eli'jah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Eli'jah.