i'm thinking of the bible as a trilogy
the strangest and greatest trilogy ever written
this is not a literary map, inscribing insightful lines
separating the words into three connected countries.
volume one is the entire text of the bible
volume two is the entire text of the bible
so is volume three
the text does not change from volume to volume
if you want to find out what happens next
you have to change, become someone new.
i know this this sounds impossible
trust me on this, it happens.
all it takes to move from one volume to the next is the smallest seed of an idea
which will grow, roots to stalks to branches to flower
until at full fruit you are ready,
the entire work is something new
volume one, an epic journey
full of unlikely heroes
wise sayings
timely miracles
good triumphs over evil in the end
i think i read volume one a hundred times
one day i can no longer ignore this whisper,
"what about the people who were in the land before it was given away as a gift,
what about the children who didn't get the good promises?",
that works through your soul
you pick up the book again, it is no longer volume one
volume two, things don't go so well
all the heroes have flaws
evil is everywhere unchecked
a final chapter of death and doom
written as if it were love and justice
closing the book after the last page of volume two
i threw it down in disgust
swore i would never read it again
one day i recognized a constant wind in my ear
as a whispered question, asking me over and over,
"what story of my own have i ever told rightly,
or even fully understood as i told it?"
volume three, something unexpected emerges
crazy beloved people, finally finding impossible redemption.
leaving behind them, utterances of awe and amazement
hoping it would make more sense to their children
than it did to them
i may actually be looking forward to reading volume three