A Sarah Story

an imaginative retelling of an ancient tale

Blessed are you God who sustained Sarah and awakened her again and again

and then one morning gave her a triple dose of fortitude for what lay ahead

　

Sarah did not do the usual stretch and kvetch when she got out of bed

she knew at once that Abraham had taken Isaac up the mountain

along with his sharp knife and his mind set in regression

　

at once her feet began ferociously to run in place

her hands jumped upward to grab the ear of God

and yank it closer as she cried

　

o God take my old bones and use them

to make a collar to protect the neck of Isaac

o God take my old heart and mash it up to make a paste

to secure my old bones into place

o God take my old skin and make straps

to wind round the collar

to make the neck of Isaac safe

　

God listened to the prayer of Sarah but did not need to use her bones

to save the life of Isaac who was returned home in three days

carrying something beneath his arm wrapped in cloth

Sarah fell into a heap upon seeing him

he leaped to assist her

she began instructing him

what to do with the horn

he'd brought home

from his ordeal

　

Blessed are you God who stayed the hand of Abraham

on Mount Moriah long ago