Exodus

So dry
And I thirst,
But the worst
Is this sand.

Grains fly,
Pierce my face
Every place
In this land.

We fled
Pharaoh's grip
For this trip
Which I hate.

No bread
While we stray,
So we pray
And we wait.

Parched lips
Spit a groan
Til the stone
Touched his rod.

These sips,
Through the pains,
My thirst wanes
Thanks to God

But food?
Despite fears
It appears:
Manna, quail

Our Guide:
Smoke and flame
Yahweh Came
Without fail.

Joseph

Specifically poignant because some translations of Num 11:12 have Moses asking if he is a "foster father" (others use the term "nurse").


In the desert, Moses sighed
Raised his voice to God and cried
"Release me from this burden, Lord"

"I'm not a father," so he said
And, tired of those he had led,
He'd rather face a deadly sword

Skip past fourteen hundred years:
Another father-figure's fears
When he heard news of his new wife

But unlike Moses, he accepted
His new role as he protected
Mary and her child's life

But the twists do not end there
As Jesus, under Joseph's care
Would also ask for drink and food

Across those same Egyptian sands
He carried God in his own hands
This gracious, silent man of good.