Behold the Whale
Behold the whale, in massive, weighted bulk,
Dressed in foam and sea spray, like a shawl,
Prodigious might, with flapping, fanning tail,
Black and white, in thumping ocean sprawl,
The barnacle encrusted beast is monarch!
His size and stately girth so wondrous large,
Perusing lightless depths with eyes a twinkle,
Gliding through the waves just like a barge,
The fish and other ocean creatures scurry,
Sore outmatched by this enormous brute,
A strong leviathan with endless courage,
Rising up to make his breathy toot,
Ancient Jonah, sent by God to Nineveh,
But willful strong he sojourns to Tarshish,
He pays for passage on a ship from Joppa,
Over glassy sea and splashing fish,
Fleeing from the sight of God eternal,
The helpless craft is stricken in a storm,
The crew cast lots to ascertain the reason,
And settle thereupon on Jonah’s form,
Jonah then admits the stern indictment,
I am the stemming cause of this black day,
I offer now to thwart this cursed cloudburst,
And plunge into the heaving, ocean fray,
He jumps and dives among the waves in terror,
Captured by a whale, inside his maw,
Eaten like a shrimp or other morsel,
Cast in silent blackness, struck in awe,
The cave like stomach, lightless as a cellar,
Bewildering and dismal, dank and dire,
Jonah seeking madly for an answer,
Looking up to God in brimming ire…
I pledge to do Your will again Jehovah!
I will not disobey your wise command,
Now cast your power on this whale gigantic,
And have him cough me up upon the land!
God responds, recouping Jonah’s being,
The fish disgorging him upon the shore,
Proving there His mercy and His favour,
I am the God you rightly should adore!
I’ll test you Jonah — go to Nineveh city!
And prophesy to them with heart of fire!
He travels there and warns them of God’s fury,
Their imminent estate in thorn and brier,
In fourty days your city will be ashes!
Destroyed by God for thine own evil ways,
The Ninevites respond with prayer and fasting,
Fearing a demise in firey blaze,
The God of Israel responds with blessing,
Showing them His love — in mercy found,
Taking back possession of their spirits,
In truth you walk again on hallowed ground!
AD Lovkis, 05/06/25
adamdaniel 