Angel of Death, Don't Pass Me By

a poem to welcome the Spirit's work

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

Dear Angel of Death,
Don't pass me by
as I stand in Goshen land
feeling myself untouched.

Dear Angel of Death,
Leave me not alone
as you expose others' sin
as an idol mistrust
that I myself have echoed 
like an unlearned child.

Dear Angel of Death,
enter here at the door
lest unscathed by ten plagues
I deceive myself into faith
that after such years in Egypt,
I'm perfected and yeast-less.

Dear Angel of Death,
I bid you come through
beneath lintel bloodied
by your one perfect lamb,
who made me 
a door now open to you,
and you to me not a plague
but Spirit scouring sin from within.

So Angel not unto Death,
Here's the peace I construct. 
Here's my hope in good luck. 
Here's my thirst for fleeting wealth. 
Here's my livestock and good health. 
Here's the stench of frogs piled high in my home. 
And here's the sunshine I think makes wise my eyes.

At your knock, here I stand offering firstborns to your hand.
And after you in me have done all you've planned
let's leave this place and feast together in Paradise.

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