Poem for Today : 'The Flood'

The Flood

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‘Come,’ said Noah, to his three sons,

‘For God has spoken to me;

He says that we must build an ark

From the wood of the cedar tree.

Three hundred by fifty by thirty,

Is the size God said we should make;

And it should have three decks,

Each living creature to take.

We shall bring to the ark

Two of each kind,

And food for us and for them:’

So he set about to build the ark,

With Japheth, Ham and Shem.

The animals went to the ark,

As God commanded they should,

And just as God commanded them,

It was made of gopher wood.

After Noah, his sons and their wives;

Then the Lord closed the door,

And rain started to pour,

Outside the rest lost their lives.

For forty days and forty nights

The flood covered over the earth,

As God blotted out all living things,

For man had abused his birth.

The waters covered the mountains,

Till no land was left in sight:

Then God caused a wind to pass over,

After the fortieth night.

Slowly the waters receded,

So Noah decided to see

If the land had been returned,

And if the mountains and plain

Would sweep once again,

Down to the shores of the sea.

He sent out a raven

Which flew here and there,

Over the face of the land,

But could find no place to rest;

So he sent out a dove

Which, soaring above,

Found no place to build a nest.

Noah waited for seven more days,

Then the dove was sent once again,

Returning this time with proof

That the land was free from rain.

The waters had dried from the earth,

And God spoke to Noah once more:

Take your sons and their wives,

Each beast and each bird,

And leave the ark through the door.

Then God made a promise to Noah,

That never again would there be

Such a flood as had been in those days,

When the land was covered by sea.

I’ll set in the sky, for all men to see,

A bow, high up in the cloud,

That will stretch from heaven to earth,

To trumpet my promise aloud.

That’s why, when it rains,

We often will see,

As the sun comes shining through,

A rainbow of every colour,

Confirming God’s promise to you.

© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, January 2006