On Zacharias Coming Out of the Temple
Long they had been waiting, So long had he been in. Too long, they turned themselves inward. Someone spat. Another scuffed his sandal On the thick rock-gravel which ran Along the grass near the road, groping About his mind for something smart and small Which he had lost but hoped one day to find. So what they began solemn became less than, Until they saw, up on the hillside, His swarthy figure swerve into the Firelight of the temple’s doorway And swoop down to them, limbs aloud With wonder, eyes thundering gospel Through them, though his lips beat And strummed to no effect, save that Of the awe of his audience. He sang them the dumbest song They had never heard, And it was the wisest thing They had ever known. And they danced to it— At a stand-still.
—Kevin Rulo
Kevin Rulo is a doctoral student studying literature at the Catholic University of America, where he also teaches Rhetoric and
Composition.
