The Tale of Noah - Jon Jackson

[Larry Robinson]

The Tale of Noah

Imagine Noah at the end of the Ice Age.
The glaciers are melting, seas rising.
Atlantis has gone underwater.
Civilizations are drowning, or learning to swim.
Everything is changing, new maps drawn.
His sons report warmer weather
All over the known world.
 
An ocean of water sits high above the valley.
Its icy lip thinning as danger looms.
He wants to save his animals from the flood.
So, he builds a boat that will only float.
His daughters report dying crops.
Men all around call him mad.
 
One day, the ice rim cracks, the frigid water
Sitting poised, ready to fill the void.
It is time. He leads his animals
Into the massive zoo, meticulously tailored.
His men report imminent disaster.
The ice rim cracks again.
 
At the foot of the valley is a stone wall, miles long,
Solid, firm, two hundred yards high.
It was made by men to keep strangers out.
But today, it will also keep the water in.
His animals report anxious dis-ease.
And the flooding begins.


The first torrent slams the heavy door shut.
The huge vessel spins like a top.
Men are thrown overboard into violent waves.
The border wall holds, the village is destroyed.
They all hear reports of snapping trees.
As the vessel lifts and floats.
 
For days they drift ever closer to the wall.
The new lake breaches, creating waterfalls.
Outside, all see the bobbing ship high above,
Expecting it to fall, come crashing down.
Soldiers report evacuations.
All hangs tense and beautiful.
 
Finally, a tunnel through the wall gives way.
The drain begins, a new river rushes out.
What was old washes away, destroyed.
But the huge wall stands firm, strong.
The shamans report sunny skies
As everything changes.
 
Weeks later, the water is only slightly down.
The boat is grounded on the valley’s arm.
All is intact, no one else has died.
Noah finally opens the door as silence abounds.
His wife reports that she is pregnant.
And the sky is a new strange blue.

	- Jon Jackson
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