They misread the signs—

the silence of forty days’ time—

the loss of the man,

destitution.

_

Blindfolds and unmoving feet

stoke madness.

_

They put their gold

to the awkward gape

and made a calf—

This is your god, O Israel.

_

And where was Yahweh all the time?

Not far—

the Creator of all things,

who would have gone up

in their midst,

carving His words on stone

for them

with His very own hands.