A Proud Leper

Mistake number one

He sent someone to me,

Mistake number two

It was a maid; that was funny.

Mistake number three

You wouldn’t believe,

It was the awful instruction

That I received.

Me, second to the king only

Can you dig this?

Dip in Jordan?

There must be something I missed.

And that wasn’t all

There was mistake number four,

Dip not one time

But six times more.

Back home in Damascus

We had Abana and Pharpar,

Compared to the River Jordan

These were cleaner by far.

I think you need to know

Who I really am,

I did great exploits

I was a very great man.

But I had a problem

A huge one indeed,

Having suffered with leprosy

I had a great need.

Hence the reason why

I was sent to Israel

But these insults

Made me feel more miserable.

If my name you must know

Go to 2Kings the 5^th chapter,

Just read verse one

And my name you’ll decipher.

I was so angry

That I just turned away,

I had come with hope

But it wasn’t my day.

I had heard about Elisha

A very great man indeed,

I had been convinced

That he could meet my need.

Surely if he had come out

And stood before me

I was definitely sure

He could heal my malady.

How dare he

Insult the second in command,

I can tell you now

That was not in my plan.

That was it for me,

Dip in Jordan?  Not a chance,

A dip in dirty Jordan

Would not my skin enhance.

Just then my servants spoke

It was what they said,

Their words made sense,

By their words I was led.

One dip in dirty Jordan

But there was no change,

Two dips, three and then four

My skin still looked strange.

Down a fifth time

My skin looked no different,

If only you knew

How this indignity I resent.

I paused before the sixth

Then I took the dive,

My skin was still the same

My healing had not arrived.

Well I had dipped six times

Seven I couldn’t refuse,

I was now dirty all over

There was nothing to lose.

So down again I plunged

For dip number seven

And when I came up

That was like heaven.

I had never seen

Anyone’s skin so clean,

You could just imagine

With delight I screamed.

I tried to reward the prophet

But my offer he ignored

So I made another request

For I felt I should do more.

I decided to take

A little of Israel’s dirt,

A kind of embassy in Damascus

Certainly wouldn’t hurt.

There I could communicate

With Israel’s God

And tell the news of my healing

At home and abroad.

Two more things I must tell

As I conclude this poem,

Bear with me a little more

And I’ll share both of them

I had another problem

It was called pride,

When I dipped in dirty Jordan

That problem died.

I experienced God’s grace

Which cannot be bought,

Gehazi was overcome with greed

And after the reward he sought.

He made it appear

That God’s grace was for sale

But none of us has any merit,

In assuming such, we will fail.

Stewart Russell © may 2018