Song of Judith (And All That Biblical Rage)

by Kiyoshi Hirawa

spare me.

i’m wary and weary of songs,

especially ones recapping decapitations.

instead, i’ll trade you this head for some peace,

even spill this tea for two bits of silence:

holofernes snores when he’s sawed–I saw it myself.

but now wrecked with specks from the bloody spectacle,

bring me coticule for my bone-dulled sword,

and after dangling my sweetest parts

for the invading horde, i want a spread of figs and dates,

and fire for the fated basket

that can never again carry bread.

Image credit: vale on Unsplash

for i said you must trust and wait,

but you hedged your pledge

with a five-day clause because

you got thirsty, so i went to war as a thirst trap,

left to fend with only wits and tits

(even david was permitted five smooth stones,

samson a jawbone for his philistine strife,

ehud a knife, actual steel),

and now you want to pum-pound the drum

and jingle-sling the tambourine…for me?

on second thought, stand down that decree,

and bring me six new instruments built from

broom, loom, horn, corn, seeds, and reeds,

and let my widowers jam,

then bring my ride-or-die, abra, to beatbox,

and I'll rhyme, rap, and slam about

rahab and jael and deborah and esther

and every incident of male impotence

the Omnipotent refitted with female impetus,

and I'll singe, not sing,‘til your cheeks tinge

and my lilt tilts with the guilt you buried

with bathsheba and dinah and tamar.

so stow your songs–

writing your wrongs is my bantam anthem.

***

Image by Kiyoshi Hirawa

Kiyoshi Hirawa is a poet, writer, and former police officer who was wrongfully terminated after reporting sexual misconduct and rape committed by fellow police officers. Hirawa’s work focuses on trauma, resiliency, hope, and providing a voice for the unheard, ignored, and overlooked.