The Prophets' Tombs

-------------------------------/The Prophets' Tombs: Jesus' Thoughts Thereon


A prophet’s cry: immortalized in stone
a memento to dying encased in marble
a glamorized relic of the past
a foregone judgment against perceived sedition sanitized
suppressing
the very real fears of accountability feeding
that rapacious nagging of conscience
inside us all
subversive deception/ cruel irony
the statue's couture, the gleeful expressions
without one hint of agony or struggle
an appalling base embroidered with delicately chiseled roses
sprouting from the memories of the "precious" blood
of Israel's decorated heroes
tormented to death while the city indulged its sin
(weeping for righteousness)
and what do you say to your fathers whose legacy
left behind you are forced to promulgate and carry on
to your sons and daughters….
only that Jeremiah espoused the belief in the dignity
of every man, and Isaiah rallied for the honor of all Jews
paragons of mosaic law
we murdered for one more bout of drinking strong wine
one more prostitute unbeknownst to our wives?
Just once more an unjust verdict rendered for the rich to spite the poor
and what kind of heritage is that?
disreputable lineage
shameful past
marred bloodlines, dark spirits ominous ghosts leeching
on afflicted souls forever....
So know that in heaven, in the company of angels
your ornamental white washed representation
of your appreciation for Zechariah
unrighteous, selfishly
stoned to death between the altar and the temple
muffling convicting impassioned pleas for obedience to God
via a smiling man genuflecting toward the
graves of your fathers, and uncles
will never be taken at face value
it will always be a lie



Luke 11:46-54
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And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.