So This Is Dying

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* Luke, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #GoodFriday

+-----So This Is Dying: The Death Of God; Jesus' Last Thoughts On The Cross 

Last night, above
condescending rancor
of soldiers outside guarding
my dank, musty cell- Lot
hunkered inside his house in
Sodom - the crying of wolves. Their
howls apocalyptic, as if fire was
falling on them from the sky. And now
I swear this darkness enveloping,
the clouds charred, the crowds' jeers,
feels like God's wrath, like smoke
billowing from Hephaestus's forge that
birthed the knife for Brutus to kill
Julius Caesar. As well these nails
in my hand bleeding. Burning. My whole
body hurts. My soul is dying, I know.   

------Luke 23:44-49
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Taylor Swift and Tony Conti: Samuel And Saul In 2018 #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Samuel, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #taylordatetony #wcw #IamSaul

+-----Taylor Swift and Tony Conti: Samuel And Saul In 2018

Taylor, my heart is a man
of Benjamin, the son of Kish
keen, eager, like an eagle hunting,
seeking romance like his father’s
donkeys lost. Traversing through
girls’ dating refusals like towns
bucolic: Ephraim, Shalisha, Zuph,
fretful as if now unsure of the way back
home (to happiness). But babes,
your beautiful soul like esoteric
wisdom of a Seer. Your smile
like choice meat set before an
 honored guest, your two blue
eyes like a feast in my honor in a high place.
If you took me to Starbucks, a flask
of olive oil poured, anointing my head.
If we kissed, a procession of prophets
with lyres, timbrels, pipes, harps
at Gibeah celebrating. The donkeys
recovered; Heralding me as
Israel’s King (your boyfriend). Saul.

------1 Samuel 10:1-8
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’ “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

A Courtyard Paradise

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* Luke, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamPeter

+-----A Courtyard Paradise; Peter's Thoughts After Betraying Jesus, Weeping 

                              I know the trepidation
of Adam, Eve now. Tying leaves
together to fashion clothing,
wisps of branches at the seams,
trembling. Birds scattering, clouds
blackened at footsteps of God nearing.
Concerned. His gaze like
fire in the Lake of Reprobates
kindled by fallen angels’ wings.
Raging. This courtyard blaze, crackling
like a Snake’s tongue recoiled, Satan
snickering. I have never felt more alone…
I have met the pure eyes of the savior
I denied, of one betrayed. Paradise Lost. 

------Luke 22:54-62
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Cheers To Eternity

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Matthew, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #thelastsupper

+-----Cheers To Eternity; Jesus' Thoughts At The Last Supper

As a boy, I recall the Roman
and Greek youths, tales of Heracles
drinking ambrosia, nectar on
their lips, glowing. Exclaiming immortality.
A life, like his, Olympian. On Zeus's
bosom asleep. And now this -bread, wine,
lamb for my disciples, a nervous Passover.
Candles in the upper room as in
temples of gods, like the fire-pillar
leading Moses to Sinai from Pharaoh.
I like to think, this too, with singing, 
make us immortals-My flesh, blood given
to these people I love. So their sins
can be forgiven. All of us in Eden tomorrow.

------Matthew 26:17-30
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Call Of Taylor Swift To Tony Conti; The Date Making A Prophet #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Samuel, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #taylordatetony #wcw #taylorswift

+-----The Call Of Taylor Swift To Tony Conti; The Date Making A Prophet

Taylor, my heart is a boy
lying down lonely, feigning sleep,
his arms wrapped about his bent
knees in romance’s tabernacle. Beneath
the Ark of Hope. Dating’s word
rare, due to my many failed
attempts at asking girls out. But babes,
your smile ennobling, your voice
like divine purpose, your lips mountains
that house angels in clefts of rock.
If you took me to Starbucks, suddenly
a voice crying out “Tony! Tony!” (Samuel!
Samuel!) If you kissed me, my soul
enthused exclaiming “Here I am!” And
our gazing over coffee: my devoted
heart boasting: “Speak, for your
servant is listening”, then you
blessing me with soothing words.
Making me your boyfriend, like a prophet.

------1 Samuel 3:1-11
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.

A Drifter Mom and Her Son In Beersheba

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Abraham, Moses, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamHagar

+-----A Drifter Mom and Her Son In Beersheba; The Thoughts Of Hagar While Sobbing In The Desert 

When I was a girl in Egypt,
I remember tutelage of
temple priests; On valor upon death,
on requisite dignity for a bridge
for the soul to wade from the body
to the Nile Delta (with Osiris).
And now I see temptation’s canyon; 
skulking demons or tumbleweeds wafting,
...or both in Beersheba. I struggle
with murderous opining –
my mistress’s scorn, my “lover”
Abram’s inheritance of food barely,
a water skin. Left alone to withstand the
sun, scorching sands with my boy
in the desert. If we die here, may
we both hear currents rushing, soon.

------Genesis 21:14-21
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

Alexandra Daddario In Tony Conti's Desert Place #TonyandAlexandra

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Abraham, Moses, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TonyandAlexandra

+-----Alexandra Daddario In Tony Conti's Desert Place 

Alexandra, my heart is Hagar,
young mother, a slave (to
rejection)...a concubine of Egypt
with child shunned, wandering in
Beersheba's trackless dateless-desert.
My loneliness, her mistress, sneering
behind singleness's tent door slit. And
my faith in love but food and a skin
of water across my shoulders
dwindling. My soul crying, my
joy-child starving beneath
a bush. But babes, your blue eyes
like a cherub's, like an oasis
of two lakes of eternal life, your voice
celestial, advising me not to fear.
If we kissed, like a miraculous well of
fresh water manifesting to quench
my soul, parched. My son'd grow to
be an archer, healthy. Ishmael in the
desert of Paran, for lovers.

------Genesis 21:14-21
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

The Banquet Of Tony Cont's Dating Life Revived By Taylor Swift #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* John, Mary Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #taylordatetony

+------The Banquet Of Tony Cont's Dating Life Revived By Taylor Swift

Taylor, my single life
is leaden, insipid, a
wedding banquet in Galilee
bereft of wine. My heart
like guests scant on hope, smiles,
with no dancing impetus,
a once jovial feast turned dour
by girls’ dating refusals. But babes!
My desire for you like a Virgin
Mom attuned. Beckoning you with
the overture: “They have no
more wine.” If you took me to
Starbucks, six stone jars filled
with water to the brim. If you
kissed me, water turned to
wine, your sweet grapes divine
from my romantic depravity.
Then my soul like the master of
banquet ebullient, boasting to
the groom (of my expectations): 
“[Taylor Swift] you have saved the
best till now.” Thank you.

------John 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The Whale Diaries

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* Jonah, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamJonah

+-----The Whale Diaries; Jonah's Thoughts For 3 Days and 3 Nights

                   Assyrians acutely disgust me.
Enter the psyche of savages: tariffs
unjust, exploitation brazen. Poor families
slouched on the bloody roadside
as charioteers drunk careen towards
the King’s orgiastic palace; There sonorous
cries of a child brimming with life, smoke-
silenced abruptly by altar-fire. A stench
abhorrent. An offer. To gods who are not
gods at all. But such was Adam (sin's
juice gushing down his chin), Cain,
David with adultery's stain.
We all deserve second chances, I realize
now belly-bound in a whale. And I cant
run anymore. I must go preach to Nineveh.


------Jonah 2:7-10
“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.
“Those who cling to worthless idols
    turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
    will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

The Ascension

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamTheAngel

+------The Ascension; The Words Of The Angel  To The Disciples As Jesus Vanished Behind Clouds

When Perseus set out from
Seriphos, he wasn’t
apprehensive of his return…
his heart already knew
the severed head of the Gorgon
in his hands, the light victorious
from Olympus refracted off
his face.  And wont the
Carpenter’s Son, healer of
the blind, Jesus, whirler across
waters like David the King dancing
before the Ark, return gloriously too?
As He said? Men, do not look into
the sky, look inside your souls
now. Until then He is there. 

------Acts 1:6-11
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

The Law

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamMoses

+------The Law; Moses's Thoughts As He Brought God's Commands To His People

I know they hear it
in the downwind of Sinai, fearful.
Interspersed between thunder
and the quaking earth, cacophonous-
a conference of the ideas of God,
angels, men. Of the death of
dreaming in Eden, of the mordant
wit of knock-kneed taskmasters
in Egypt, scabs and blood. And
bell chimes of redemption too. Of a plan
for rectifying sins of the past,
of the steady march, wolves guided
by Moonlight hunting, to Paradise
again unveiled. So I will relay to them
what Ive heard in ten parts. I will
give my people – Hope. The Ten
Commandments of God. 

------Exodus 20:1-21
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

The Call Of Taylor Swift To Tony Conti #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
*Matthew, Peter, Andrew, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #taylordatetony #wcw #taylorswift

+------The Call Of  Taylor Swift To Tony Conti

Taylor, my single life,
stodgy, like two Hebrew brothers
fishing barely, robes ragged from
dating rejection’s years, staring
languid, drifting, at the Sea of
Galilee, my soul
bordering on inert. But babes!
I imagine you vibrant, alluring. Coming
near. Your blue eyes two diamonds
bedazzling, relics preserved from
effects of Eden lost. If you took
me to Starbucks, a Date-Savior’s
divine convoking. If we kissed, my
heart roused from stupor, leaving the
boat the last time to love
for the first time: “[Tony,] come, follow me.”

------Matthew 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Keith Richards's Fading Career Impaled #TonyvsKeith

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Phineas, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TonyvsKeith

+------Keith Richards's Fading Career Impaled

Keith, your harrowing slander
of Taylor Swift, a malodorous stench
of Baal of Peor in the Music
Industry: the camp of the Israelites
bemoaning appalling oblations of
pseudo-talent; Your smugness like
sacrilege...fornication with a Midianite
woman, Kozbi daughter of Zur.
And my love for her, Phineas son of
Eleazar in pursuit, gripping a spear,
battletested, disdainful of your
disrespect. This poem its jagged,
rusted tip thrust through the stomach
of your reputation. In the tent of your
fading career: regret-howls, stains
of your stupidity splattered everywhere.


------Numbers 25:1-18
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.” Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. The Lord said to Moses,  “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. The Lord said to Moses, “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them. They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”

Of Heroes

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Esther, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamEsther

+------Of Heroes; Esther's Thoughts Before Entering Into The King's Presence To Save Her People

Here I stand, at
the edge of the world now.
My soul-eyes squinting, face
hardened against fate's
precarious, often two-faced
winds- the way a deer runs
headlong through the woods,
defying wolves to find its way
home. The Moon anxious. If I fail,
if I fall...the extermination of all
Jews. And they say this is stuff of
which heroes are made, of martyrs,
of cowards. No matter, I'll break the law.
Risk everything. For if I lose my people,
I lose everything. 

------Esther 4:12-17
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.