Gallicantu




I awakened at a rooster crow, which seemed so strangely out of place
In the busy marketplace of Addis Ababa.
My first awakening in Africa
To  foreign blends of sound, and above them all,
a rooster crow -- Gallicantu.

Yes, it was a rooster crow that called me
From my dark and restless slumber into the light of day.
And stirring in the misty haze of wakefulness and sleep

I saw myself as Peter
In blustering conceit
Lulled to lethargy -
Content with boistrous faith which quickly rose
And quickly went
When the first accusing finger posed the question,
"Are you one of THEM?"

"I am not!" I cried, and again with cursing,
"I do not know that man!"

Not one, not twice, but three times Christ denying.
Then -- Gallicantu.

A rooster crow that seemed so strangely out of place.
I awakened from my dark and restless slumber,
And wept bitterly.

Comments

  1. Greg told me your "quip" about spring that you put on Facebook, so I BLATANTLY stole it for my today's blog post title.

    Then, in an act of true contrition, I gave you credit at the end of the post.

    ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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