Lucid - From Now On

------/Lucid;The Thoughts Of The Boy Samuel Upon Hearing God's Voice


Its hard to distinguish poverty from the justified renderings
of jurisprudence
for a hard life of crime, treachery
or whether doleful expressions are just feigned attempts at
eliciting sympathy from people who are susceptible
to falling prey to lies
from inferior fellow citizens used as motivation for avoiding
sloth
or rather manifestations of our former selves foreboding
portending the manifest destiny
of evil in our lives forever
or whether it's a tactile philosophy; just a glimpse of a minor setback
to a lasting and rewarding end -
trials for prosperity
escape from worldly living and its attendant pull
blinding the eye to virtue and simplicity and the nobility
of the spiritual life
the same way the constant paranoia of a surprise attack
makes the high priest alert and especially responsible for his duty
offering sacrifices for the wicked;
hoping atonement will clear the collective national conscience
fostering civic pride and embrace of responsibility for laws of the land
thus averting the divine wrath
and reprisal for sacrilege untoward
but contrarily might signal a deeper yearning in the soul
to press onward and not be dismayed;
that the land couldnt be more obedient or more holy
for fear often rages loudest when peace draws nearest
when silence chases out all sound;
just to prepare to brace for the passing storm
(and conduct worship as usual)
....and I saw an old lady once
with a pleasant demeanor, and a persistent smile
when I was in her presence
but petulantly threw stones when I walked away
and I see thieves who hold out their hands to greet you
in the market, missing teeth a gleam in their eyes
only to surreptitiously take the loaf of bread on your person
when you oblige
then dash away
and clouds don't always bring rain
and sunshine doesn't always hearld warmth
and sometimes cocks crow at the moon, not the sun
so you develop an assiduous hatred for uncertainty and indecision
you want to hear that the senseless old order is passing away
with its confusion, and that the day will soon come when a word is a word
without any mystique
even if you hear the most ominous of speeches
you just for once want to hear Truth
even if it means lying on cold floors in tabernacles
the rest of your life
unable to sleep over an old man's snoring


-----------------/1 Samuel 3
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down. Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!"
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears.” Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" He answered, “Here I am.” And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him." So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD. Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.