Eternity Engraved

Sometimes, lately, when I sit down to write prose, poetry comes instead. Quite recently, I was writing a chapter about the word pictures in the Thanksgiving Psalms of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Metaphors of "vessel of clay, "dust," and God in his act of engraving eternity upon a heart of stone, a heart that is not-yet-flesh (see especially Ezekiel 11:19 and 1QHa 21:13-14). While deep in thought, the following words came, welcome but unexpected:

ETERNITY ENGRAVED

You engrave eternity upon this heart of stone

Form Yourself upon this cast down face and silenced voice

Re-create these twisted hands and wayward feet

Vessel of clay, dust for You alone

Your glory.