Hair Is It

 

 

Of such breathtaking beauty

The women were sure to adore:

Of prestigious royal linage

And so much more.

 

Third son of his kingly father

And fairest of them all:

The apple of his father’s eye

The first name he’d call.

 

He had a beautiful sister

Whom a brother lusted after,

After she rebuffed his advances

He eventually raped her.

 

 

It took about two years

To avenge his sister’s rape,

At a party invitation

His brother took the bait.

 

There his brother died

But not by his own hand,

His servants were the assassins

In accordance with his plan.

 

Out of fear of his father

He ran away to Geshur,

There he stayed three years

Returning to Jerusalem after.

 

After two years of no contact

With his father he was reconciled

But this peace never lasted

As his father’s rule he denied.

 

He made himself a judge

And began to canvas the people

And promised them much

If he became king of Israel.

 

His followers grew steadily

And his father had to flee,

By treason he claimed the throne

But that ended in a tree.

 

  

While riding under a tree

 He was entangled by his hair

And while hanging from that tree

He was executed in mid-air.

 

David was king again

But great was his grief for Absalom,

His army’s morale was low

Though the battle they had won.

 

Much was going for Absalom

And he was flying high in the air,

However, pride goes before a fall

And his fall was his lovely hair.

 

 

Absalom’s hair was his glory

Samson’s hair was his strength,

However the problem for them both

Was not in their hair’s length.

  

Absalom’s eyes were out of focus

Samson’s eyes were forced out

But as to the cause of their blindness,

None of us should be in doubt.

 

It was not the hair but the eyes

Both of these men were blind,

Because they saw no further than self

They both ended up in a bind.

 

The moral of this poem is:

People may focus on your hair

But what you see is critical

Hence you need to take care.

 

 

Samson saw Delilah

Absalom saw his father’s throne,

The Bible is replete with similar;

These were not alone.

 

What is it that distracts you?

Conduct your personal quiz,

For you it may be something else

But for some, hair it is.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019

 

Samson’s Unusual Weapon

 

 What worth could be in a jawbone

Especially the jawbone of an ass?

The best body to ask would be Samson,

Please get him here fast!

It was a new jawbone

Perhaps placed there for Samson’s use

Samson put forth his hand and took it

And with it he let loose.

Swinging left and swinging right

The Philistines fell with each swing,

When he finished a thousand died

And only Samson was left in the ring.

One thousand slain that day

With the jawbone of an ass,

One by one he took them out

And piled them in a mass.

Quite obviously, it was God

That had performed this wondrous feat,

Alas though, Samson was tired and thirsty

And not too steady on his feet.

That new jawbone of an ass

Became a brand-new water cooler

As God hollowed out the inside

And gave Samson a thirst-quencher.

What an unusual weapon!

And it was a water decanter too!

Make do with what ever you have

And God will surprise even you.

Stewart Russell © June 2020

The Visible Trap

When he said I do

He was done

He’d just begun

But the end had come.

In the euphoria of the moment

He enjoyed himself

Knowing only too well

He had invited ill health.

The warnings were there

The counsel was clear

But having made up his mind

He must serve the time.

What a beautiful face!

What a bewitching smile!

What a tender embrace!

What alluring guile!

She’s not for you

Advised more than a few,

All along he knew

She knew it too.

But she walked by his side

Back down the aisle

He was her prize

However they despise.

From a well-to-do family

He was well bred,

No doubt in her mind

He she would wed.

And that she had done

As she took their son

All was legal and right

He was hers from that night.

A life of misery ensued

Far beyond expectation

And though they lived together

There was chronic rejection.

  

But he had said "I do"

And "I do" he would keep

But his warning to the unwed

Is, “look before you leap.”

All that glitters is not gold

We’ve been repeatedly told,

Choose wisely and sleep well

Or with the devil prepare to dwell.

Samson you would recall

Saw Delilah as his all

But in her tender embrace

He had a terrible fall.

A face was all it took

With a bewitching smile,

Delilah had claimed her prize

And Samson was defiled.

Then came his end

Though with much consolation,

As the audience applauded

He effected their destruction.

He had walked knowingly

Into their clever trap

But after in his blindness

Reduced them to mere scrap.

Many are not as fortunate

As in the case of Samson,

They pay an inordinate sum

As a wife-demanded ransom.

Novelty soon wears off

The honey leaves the moon

And all that’s left in the marriage

Is a witch on a broom.

Memories don’t leave like people do

But some quickly disappear

Leaving regret and alimony

And a life of gloom and despair.

Stewart Russell © September 2017