LEVITICUS CHAPTER 10 ~ 16

LEVITICUS 10

1 Then Nadab and Abihu, sons
Of Aaron , each took his censer
And put fire in it, incense buns,
And offered profane fire to stir
Before YHWH, which thing He had not
Commanded them. 2 So fire went out
From YHWH and burned them, and they died
Before YHWH, sin could not abide.
3 And Moses said to Aaron, "This
Is what YHWH spoke, and not amiss,
'By those who come near Me I must
Be held as holy, not as dust,
And glorified by all the people.'"
So Aaron said nor church nor steeple.

The deaf and blind ask but one question here.
Is glory sanctified in more than fear?
In four-fold rising pitches Moses speaks
What in one word all the creation seeks.
This, this it is. The rest is for the rabble,
Vain explanations above vainer babble.
Such vanity when set to Your own tune
Becomes the gate to an eternal noon.
Such words on words must sometime come to rest
And thus lead into glories, what is best.
The sons of Aaron die in drunkenness.
The prohibition says he must not bless.
Bewildered by the wisdom of release,
The High Priest chooses now to hold his peace.

4 And then Moses called Mishael,
Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel
The uncle of Aaron , and said
To them, "Come near, carry the dead
Your brothers from before the tent
Out of the camp." 5 And so they went
Near and carried them by the cloak
Out of the camp, as Moses spoke.
6 And Moses said to Aaron, and
To Eleazar, Ithamar, sons,
"Do not uncover, understand,
Your heads nor tear your clothes in runs,
Lest you die, and wrath come upon
All of the people. Let be on
Your brothers, all of Israel's room,
To wail the burning and the doom
Which YHWH has kindled in the gloom.
7 "You shall not go out from the door
Of the tent of the meeting, for
You would die, since anointing oil
Of YHWH is on you for your toil."
And they acted according to
The word of Moses, what to do.
8 Then YHWH spoke to Aaron, saying
9 "Do not drink intoxicating
Drink or wine, you, nor your sons too
With you, when you enter into
The tent of meeting, lest you die.
It shall be a statute forever
Stopped from your generations never,
10 "That you may distinguish between
Holy, unholy, clean, unclean,
11 "And that you may teach the children
Of Israel all the statutes when
YHWH has spoken to them by hand
Of Moses to give His command."

For four things alcohol disqualifies.
It first disqualifies for prayer and sacrifice,
And then for knowing what is holy and
What is unholy, then to understand
What is unclean and clean. The ones who taste
The poison draught and then make awful haste
To tell another what is right and wrong
Based on Your divine law or on a song
Must err and cannot by their reason say
The true thing and the just. This simple way
Determines quickly what usurper takes
Authority in church and state and makes
A theatre and fraud of truth. I hide
My face, Beloved, may You alone abide.

12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and
To Eleazar his son and
Ithamar, also his son who
Were left, "Take the grain offering stew
That remains of the offerings made
By fire to YHWH, and eat arrayed
Without yeast there beside the altar,
For it's most holy without falter.
13 "You shall eat it in holy place,
Because it is your due and grace
And your sons' due, of sacrifice
Made by fire to YHWH to suffice,
For so I have been commanded.
14 "The breast of the wave offering slid
And the thigh of heave offering you
Shall eat in a clean place, both you,
And your sons, and your daughters too,
For they are your due and your grace
And your sons' due, which are in place
Given from the peace offerings' part
Of Israel's children from the heart.
15 "The thigh of the heave offering and
The breast of wave offering in hand
They shall bring with the offerings of
Fat made by fire, to offer love
As a wave offering before YHWH.
And it shall be yours and the due
Of your sons' with you, by a law
Forever, as YHWH is in awe."

The thing is too complex, I trow, for those
Who are in sorrow for their brothers' close.
What thigh is burnt and what is eaten wears
A choice too delicate to put on airs.
Trade torched breast for scorched thigh and wheat for wave
And no one near the tent knows what to save.
The fat and lean perch on the altar fire
Before the brazen mirrors to admire
The run of mill and flood of blood that blooms
Before the veils of blue and shining rooms.
Let sons and daughters of the stricken priest
Come to a clean and holy place to feast
While I, Beloved, burn in the blazing flame
Of love and ecstasy before Your name.

16 Then Moses made careful inquiry
About the sin offering goat wiry,
And it was burnt, so he was mad
At Eleazar and the sad
Ithamar, sons of Aaron who
Were left, saying 17 "Why did you do
This and not eat what was your due
Of the sin offering in a place
Holy, since it's most holy too,
And Ælohim has given it you
To bear the guilt before His face
Of all the congregation, to
Make an atonement for them by
YHWH? 18 "See! Its blood to gratify
Was not brought in the holy place,
Indeed you should have eaten it
In a holy place, by my writ."
19 And Aaron said to Moses, "Look,
This day they've offered it and took
Their sin offering, burnt offering too
Before YHWH, and such things in rue
Have happened to me! If I'd eaten
The sin offering today unbeaten,
Would it have been accepted by
The sight of YHWH up in the sky?"
20 So when Moses heard him say that,
He was contented where he sat.

Aaron can take the death of drunken boys,
But on the same day those who change their ploys
To be of all a sudden priest and slayer
Ought not to be upbraided in their prayer
Though it is wrong. Some days must be spent in
Learning the ins and outs of priestly sin.
Meek Moses, knowing laws and frills to full
Has too much in the pail to make a pull.
Yet Aaron mourns unworthy drunken crew
Struck so fast they did not know what to do.
I bring strange fire and inept steps to You,
Beloved, and yet I find Your face is true.
Keep me beyond the holy blood and meat
Where meeting You alone is all my treat.

LEVITICUS 11

1 Now YHWH spoke to Moses and to
Aaron , saying to them, 2 "Speak to
The children of Israel, and say
'These are the animals to slay
For food among all beasts that stray
Upon the earth. 3 'Among the beasts,
Whatever divides hoof and pieced,
Having cloven hooves and the cud
Chewing, that eat without the blood.
4 'Nevertheless these you shall not
Eat among those that chew the cud
Or those that have cloven hooves' lot:
The camel, though it chews the cud
But does not have cloven hooves, is
Unclean to you, 5 'the rock hyrax,
Because it chews the cud of his
But does not have the cloven tracks,
Is unclean to you, 6 'so the hare,
Because it chews the cud right fair
But does not have cloven hooves, it
Is unclean to you and unfit,
7 'And the swine, though the hoof dividing,
Having cloven hooves, yet deriding
To chew the cud's unclean to you.
8 'Their flesh you shall not eat, eschew
To touch their carcasses, for they
Are unclean to you in the way.

The holy Qur'an gives in grace to eat
The camel and its flesh for desert treat.
The Arab woodlands when this word was spoken
Budded and bloomed, but now with only token
Of foliage all the land is bare with stone.
The camel crosses its dry reach alone.
And so You give the desert sons their sweet
To eat the flesh of camels and broiled meat.
But every other rabbit and swine still
Fall under the command Thou shalt not kill.
I kill no rabbit and no swine, nor touch
Their carcasses, nor eat their flesh as much.
Let others, my Beloved, eat and be merry.
I rest my case on the sweet Black Sea cherry.

9 'These you may eat of all that swim
In the water, what seraphim
In the water have fins and scales,
Whether in the seas with the whales
Or in the rivers, you may eat.
10 'But all in the seas that have feet,
Or in the rivers that do not
Have fins and scales, all that are taught
To move in the water or any
Living thing which is among many
In the water, they are to you
Abomination's barbecue.
11 'They shall be an abomination
To you, you shall not eat a ration
Of their flesh, but you shall regard
Their carcasses as a bad card
And an abomination so.
12 'Whatever in the waters go
Without fins or scales, that shall show
You an abomination's row.
13 'And these you shall regard among
The birds abomination wrung,
They shall not be eaten at all,
They are abomination's fall:
The eagle, and the vulture, and
The buzzard, 14 'and the kite in brand,
The falcon after its kind too,
15 'Every raven and for its due,
16 'The ostrich, the short-eared owl too,
The sea gull, and the hawk with relative,
17 'The little owl, also compellative
The fisher owl, and the screech owl,
18 'The white owl, the jackdaw for fowl,
And carrion vulture, 19 'and the stork,
The heron and its kind like pork,
The hoopoe, and the bat on fork.

Such birds as do not flap their wings when flying
Are not man's meat when slaughtered or when dying.
The bat makes an exception and for which
I do not open mouth though wings in hitch
Flap in the night. A shame indeed to kill
The gallant eagle flying on the hill.
The stupid chicken is another breed,
And killing such is not like killing steed.
And yet, Beloved, I find the chicken's sail
Compels the heart as well as peacock's tail.
I shall obey and eat, if I fulfil
Your just command, and yet the ostrich still
Seems greater sin on those who bear the knife
To take away that noble bird's dear life.

20 'All flying insects that creep on
All fours shall be abomination
To you. 21 'Yet these within their station
You may eat of insect and spawn
Flying that creeps on all its fours:
Those which have jointed legs in scores
Above their feet with which to leap
Upon the earth. 22 'These you may heap
In piles to eat: the locust after
Its kind, destroying locust's laughter
After its kind, the cricket and
Its relative, and the grasshopper
After its kind. 23 'But every popper
Of other flying insects which
Have four feet shall be in the ditch
Abomination in your hand.

How few eat locusts though You say the word.
I know why after one thing that occurred.
My daughter cantillated from the book
Of Your sweet law one day. A locust took
Its way along the railing and the step,
To stop frenetic hopping's vim and pep
And stayed to listen to the style and tune.
In beauty and in pleasure it was soon
A-basking by the raspberry vines and door.
As long as she stayed there to sing the score
The locust settled on the step to hear.
When she was silent then it turned its ear
Back to its own and hopped away again.
Beloved, the locust hears better than men.

24 'By these you shall become unclean,
Whoever touches, though unseen,
The carcass of any of them
Shall be unclean till evening's hem.
25 'Who bears their carcasses away
Shall wash his clothes and unclean stay
Until the very close of day.
26 'The carcass of any beast which
Divides the foot, but in the glitch
Is not cloven-hoofed or does not
Chew cud's unclean to you as taught.
All who touch it shall be unclean.
27 'And whatever goes on the green
Upon its paws, among all kinds
Of animals that go as finds
On fours, those are unclean to you.
Whoever touches in the queue
Any such carcass is unclean
Until evening. 28 'Whoever's seen
Bearing such carcass shall wash his
Clothes and be unclean till it is
Evening. It is unclean to you.
29 'These also are unclean to you
Among the creeping things a-creeping
Upon the earth: the mole, the reaping
Mouse, and the large lizard and kind,
30 'The gecko, and not far behind
The monitor lizard, the sand
Reptile, the sand lizard, the grand
Chameleon. 31 'These are unclean to
You among all that creep in lieu.
Whoever touches them when they
Are dead shall be unclean till day
Is spent. 32 'Anything on which any
Of them falls, when they are dead penny
Shall be unclean, whether it is
Any item of wood of his
Or clothing or skin or a sack,
Whatever it is in the track
Of work to be done, it must be
Put in water. And it shall be
Unclean until the even, then
It shall once more be clean again.
33 'Any earthen vessel into
Which any of them falls then you
Shall break it, and whatever is
In it shall be unclean for his:
34 'In such a vessel, any food
There to be eaten upon which
Water falls is unclean and rude,
And any drink that may in stitch
Be drunk from it becomes unclean.
35 'And everything on which is seen
A part of such a carcass fall
Shall be unclean, whether withal
It is an oven, cooking stove,
It shall be broken down in trove,
For they are unclean, and shall be
Unclean to you eternally.
36 'Nevertheless cistern or spring,
In which waters abundant ring,
Shall be clean, but whatever touches
Any such carcass in its clutches
Becomes unclean. 37 'And if a part
Of any such carcass by art
Falls on any planting seed which
Is to be sown, it's clean to stitch.
38 'But if water's put on the seed,
And if such carcass without heed
Falls on it, it becomes unclean
To you. 39 'And if any beast seen
Which you eat dies, the one to touch
Its carcass is unclean as much
Until the evening. 40 'He who eats
Of its carcass as though for treats
Shall wash his clothes and be unclean
Until the evening lamps are seen.
He also who carries its carcass
Shall wash his clothes and so to mark us
Be unclean until evening falls.
41 'And every creeping thing that crawls
Upon the earth's abomination.
It shall not be eaten for ration.
42 'Whatever crawls upon its tummy,
Whatever goes on all fours rummy,
Or what has many feet among
All creeping things that creep on dung,
These you shall not eat, for they are
Abomination and by far.

I understand, Beloved, that any part
Of carcass makes unclean the clean at start.
And washing on that very day is needed
When such a thing occurs and was unheeded.
But what I face in this fair chapter is
The quibble that the Scripture is a fizz
Because it says the beast walks on all fours
As well as insect when found out of doors,
Which is an error in the science battle,
Since locusts have not four legs like the cattle.
They walk on four perhaps, but they have six
And thus show up the revelation's tricks.
Thus You, Beloved, give every man the rope
To hang himself or gather up his hope.

43 'You shall not make yourselves unclean
Abominable with the mean
And creeping thing that creeps, nor shall
You make yourselves impurical
With them, lest you be defiled by
Them, 44 'For YHWH Ælohim am I.
And you shall therefore consecrate
Yourselves to be in holy state,
For I am holy. Neither shall
You defile yourselves with a pal
Of any creeping thing that creeps
Upon the earth and on its steeps.
45 'For I am YHWH who brings you out
Of Egypt's land, and without doubt
To be your Ælohim. You shall
Therefore be holy, for I'm holy.
46 'This is the law of animal
And bird and living creature lowly
All that moves in the waters, and
Of every creature on the land
That creeps, 47 'to distinguish between
The unclean and between the clean,
And between every beast that may
Be eaten and the beasts that stay
Uneaten in the holy way.'"

You sent Your prophets in the world to show
What is unclean and what clean on the go,
And what is holy and unholy by
Their treatment of Your holy Word and high.
Without prophets, these days we're democratic,
Make no distinction among the aquatic,
Between clean and unclean cellar to attic,
But treat each reigning rat with rectitudes
Deserving of the holiest of dudes.
I flee to You, Beloved, and to Your Word
Revealing what is clean and not the turd,
To know what is the holy, and so find
What's truly human in a world gone blind,
And there my heart and soul unspoiled are stirred.

WEEK 27 LEVITICUS 12

1 Then YHWH spoke to Moses, saying
2 "Speak to folk of Israel, saying
'If a woman has conceived, and
Borne a male child, then she shall stand
Unclean for seven days, as in
The days of her usual spin
She shall be unclean. 3 'And upon
The eighth day the flesh of foreskin
Shall be circumcised after dawn.
4 'She shall continue then in blood
Of purifying for the bud
Of thirty-three days, she'll not touch
The hallowed thing, nor come as such
Into the sanctuary till
The days for purity fulfil.
5 'But if she bears a female child,
Then she shall be unclean or soiled
Two weeks, as in her usual way
And she shall continue to stay
In blood till her purity pay
For sixty-five days and a day.
6 'When the days of her purity
Are filled, whether for son or wee
Daughter, she shall bring to the priest
A lamb of the first year as feast
Of a burnt offering, and a young
Pigeon or turtledove, neck wrung,
As a sin offering, to the door
Of meeting tent to make the score.
7 'Then he shall offer it before
YHWH, and make atonement for her.
And she shall be clean as it were
From the flow of her blood. And this
Is law for her who has in bliss
Borne male or female. 8 'And if she
Is not able to bring in fee
A lamb, then she may bring along
Two turtledoves or for a song
Two young pigeons, one as a burnt
Offering, the other as was learnt
A sin offering. So the priest shall
Make atonement uxorial
For her, and she'll be one clean gal.'"

For male the time to purity is won
In forty days with circumcision done.
Instead of circumcision the girl child
Is given forty more and unbeguiled.
I bring a pigeon instead of a lamb,
Since a poor dervish is all that I am.
For forty days I chant the forty Psalms
And wait for glory here beneath the palms.
My mother Wisdom still bleeds from my birth
And crouches in her labour on the earth.
Unclean, Beloved, I come to You in turn
To let the sacrifice and sin gift burn.
Though eighty days require the female right,
I reach for ninety and stay in Your sight.

LEVITICUS 13

1 And YHWH spoke to Moses and to
Aaron , saying 2 "When a man's due
To have a swelling on the skin
Of his body, a scab therein,
Or a bright spot, and it becomes
On the skin of his body bums
Like a leprous sore, then he shall
Be brought to Aaron pastoral
And priest or to one of his sons
The priests. 3 "The priest shall check his buns,
The sore on the skin of the body,
And if the hair on the sore gaudy
Has turned white, and the sore appears
To be deeper than skin adheres
On his body, it's leprous sore.
Then the priest shall examine more
And pronounce him unclean. 4 "But if
The bright spot is white on the skiff
Of skin of his body, and does
Not appear deeper than it was
On skin, and its hair has not turned
White, then the priest, for what he's learned,
Shall isolate for seven days
The one who has sores on his stays.
5 "And the priest shall examine him
On the seventh day when grown dim,
And indeed if the sore appears
To be as it was, for all fears,
And the sore has not spread on skin,
Then the priest shall again put in
Isolation seven days more.
6 "Then the priest shall look at the sore
Again on the seventh day, and
Indeed if the sore has faded,
And the sore has not spread its lid
Upon the skin, then the priest shall
Pronounce him clean and capital,
It is only a scab, and he
Shall wash his clothes and clean shall be.

I come to Your tent door to find Your face,
And find instead I enter judgement place.
For blemish I am sent out on the week
To see how days of discourse spot my cheek.
For seven days I roam the naked world
Set in ward from Your presence and uncurled.
I roam to pass the time until I may
Return to You upon the seventh day.
I pray to find with You the Sabbath blessing
Binding up wounds, pouring on them a dressing
Of wine and oil to sacrifice my fame.
I come again, reciting Your sweet name.
Beloved, if I am leprous or one clean,
It is all one, once seventh day is seen.

7 "But if the scab should be at all
Spread on the skin, after the call
Seen by the priest for his cleansing,
He'll once more be seen by the priest.
8 "And if again priest sees that thing
Of scab has indeed spread at least
Upon the skin, then the priest shall
Pronounce him unclean physical.
It is a leprosy. 9 "And when
The leprous sore appears on men,
Then they shall be brought to the priest.
10 "And the priest shall check out at least,
And indeed if the swelling on
The skin is white, at dusk or dawn,
And it has turned the hair white too,
And there's a spot of raw flesh too
There in the swelling, 11 "it's an old
Leprosy on body skin cold.
The priest shall pronounce him unclean,
And not keep him from being seen,
For he is already unclean.
12 "And if the leprosy breaks out
All over the skin, without doubt,
And leprosy's on all the skin
Of one who has the sore therein,
From his head to his foot, wherever
The priest looks, 13 "then the priest as clever
Shall consider, and indeed if
The leprosy in such a jiff
Has covered all his body, he
Shall pronounce him clean with the sore.
It's turned all white, he's clean in corps.
14 "But when raw flesh appears on him,
He shall be unclean life and limb.
15 "And the priest shall check out the raw
Flesh and pronounce him by the law
To be unclean, because the raw
Flesh is unclean. It's leprosy.
16 "Or if the raw flesh comes to be
Changed and turns white again, he shall
Come to the priest original.
17 "And the priest shall examine him,
And indeed if the sore once dim
Has turned white, then the priest shall say
That he is clean of the sore's sway.

White skin appears to be here in this law
Result of irreparable faux-pas.
The leprosy has run its course until
No regimen nor quarantine fit bill.
Despite my native Indian ancestry
I am the white sheep of my family,
With skin as white and leprous as the snow
That covers the ground where I live and grow.
I thank You, my Beloved, that such a fate
That cannot be repaired by milk or mate,
Is by Your law declared both fit and clean,
So that I may walk out and still be seen.
Whether comely and black or rated white,
Beloved, let me be clean here in Your sight.

18 "And if the body has produced
A boil in the skin, and reduced
It is healed, 19 "and in the place of
The boil there comes a white above
In swelling or a bright spot of
Reddish-white, then it shall be shown
To the priest, 20 "and if, when the lone
Priest sees it, it indeed appears
Deeper than the skin when it clears,
And its hair has turned white, the priest
Shall pronounce him unclean, at least
It is a leprous sore which has
Broken out of the boil whereas.
21 "But if the priest examines it,
And indeed no white hairs in it
Appear, and it is not deeper
Than the skin, but has light colour,
Then the priest shall isolate him
Seven days, 22 "and then if the skim
Should at all spread over the skin,
Then the good priest shall without sin
Pronounce him unclean. It's a sore
That's leprous. 23 "But if the bright spot
Stays in one place, not spread a dot,
It is the scar of the boil, and
The priest shall call him clean at hand.

Look not upon the white hairs on my hand!
My hairs are white from start and so they stand!
Your law is given in the desert mark
And made for those whose hairs were grown out dark.
For that it is, Beloved, You speak again
To send the holy Qur'an among men,
So that the laws once made particular
Shall be addressed once more spectacular
And made commanding all the universe.
And yet I do not think Your Torah worse
For being sung upon the desert sand.
My black hairs, few they were, have met the band,
Turned grey to find a common delight in
The white ones growing clean and without sin.

24 "Or if the body receives burn
On its skin by fire, weak or stern,
And the raw flesh of the burn starts
To be a bright spot, or in parts
Reddish-white or white, 25 "then the priest
Shall look at it, and at the least
If the hair of the bright spot's turned
White where the skin had once been burned,
And it appears deeper than skin,
It's leprosy appearing in
The burn. Therefore the priest shall say
He is unclean, leprous sore's sway.
26 "But if the priest examines it,
And indeed there are no hairs fit
To be called white in the bright spot,
And it's not deeper than a dot
Upon the skin, but became light,
Then the priest shall keep him in sight
For seven days. 27 "And the priest shall
Check him out soul and physical
The seventh day. If it's at all
Spread on the skin, the priest shall call
Him unclean. It's a leprous sore.
28 "But if the bright spot stays in store
In one place, and has not spread out
Upon the skin, but faded out,
It is a swelling from the burn.
The priest shall call him stem and stern
Clean, for it's the scar from the burn.

I'm scarred, Beloved, from the burns I receive
From coming to You in the burning weave
Of Your love's flame. I run into the game
And like the moth am burned before Your name.
Look not upon the burnt flesh where I live,
Nor on the paltry offering that I give.
Look not on righteous deeds, Beloved, abhor
The failures of good deeds upon my floor.
Instead cast me again into the fire
Of Your love's burning and my sole desire,
And when I come out with my burns unbound
Look on unholy flesh and call it sound.
So in my fire and leprosy I take
Another sip for burning loving's sake.

29 "If man or woman has a sore
On head or in the beard what's more,
30 "Then the priest shall look at the sore,
And indeed if it's deeper than
The skin, and if in it you can
See thin and yellow hair, the priest
Shall pronounce him unclean released.
It is a scaly leprosy
Of the head or beard you can see.
31 "But if the priest looks at the sore
With scales, and indeed it's not more
Deep than the skin, and there's no black
Hair in it, then the priest shall keep
Him in ward to both wake and sleep
For seven days. 32 "And on the last
And seventh day the priest shall cast
A look upon the sore, indeed
If the scale has not spread with speed,
And there's no yellow hair in it,
And the scale does not seem to fit
Deeper than the skin, 33 "he shall shave
Himself, but the scale he'll not shave.
And the priest shall keep him in ward
With the scale seven more days bored.
34 "On the seventh day the priest shall
Check out the scale and corporal,
And indeed if the scale has not
Spread on the skin in other spot,
And does not appear deeper than
The skin, the priest shall call the man
Clean, then he'll wash his clothes and be
Clean. 35 "But if the scale at all be
Spread over the skin after he
Is cleansed, 36 "then the priest shall check him,
And indeed if the scale, though dim,
Has spread over the skin, the priest
Need not seek yellow hair increased,
He is unclean. 37 "But if the scale
Appears to be unchanged, and hale
And black hair has grown up in it,
The scale has healed, the man is fit,
He's clean, the priest shall call him fit.

You think of everything, Beloved, You do.
Your holy law relates to hat and shoe
And everything between. You even note
The case of when a woman's bearded coat
Contains a sore, and what to do and when.
Thus You take count of women, not just men.
If in the infancy of human race
You show such gallantry, mercy and grace,
Surely now that we've baked and dried a while
And come near to perfection, You still smile,
Unless, of course, the things this race has done
Have tried Your patience now beyond the sun.
Beloved, I flee to You from good and fair
As from the evil shadows everywhere.

38 "If a man or woman has bright
Spots on skin of the body, white
Bright spots, 39 "then the priest shall look, and
Indeed if the bright spots at hand
Upon the body skin are dull
White, it is a white spot and null
That grows on the skin. He is clean.
40 "As for the man whose hair's come out
From off his head, and without doubt
He's bald, but he is clean. 41 "He whose
Hair's fallen from his forehead, news
Is he's bald on the forehead, but
He's clean. 42 "And if there is somewhat
On the bald head or bald forehead
A reddish-white sore, it is said
To be a leprous breaking out
On his bald head or as a sprout
On his bald forehead. 43 "Then the priest
Shall check it out, and if the least
Swelling of the sore's reddish-white
On his bald head or on the light
Of his bald forehead, as the looks
Of leprosy as shown in books
Upon the body skin, 44 "then he
Is leprous and unclean, he'll be
Pronounced unclean by priest, his sore
Is on his head. 45 "Do not ignore
The leper on whom the sore's found,
His clothes shall be torn, head unbound,
And he shall cover up his mouth,
Cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' north and south.
46 "He shall be unclean, all the days
He has the sore he'll be unclean.
He is unclean, shall live unseen,
Alone, his dwelling in the ways
Outside the camp where no one strays.

The dhikr or remembrance of the one
Confirmed with leprosy's beneath the sun
Or in the rain to cry when he goes out
"Unclean, unclean" as he walks round about.
I thank You, my Beloved, though I am bald,
Uncleanness is not on that matter called.
Yet I too have the words of recitation
From week to week upon my Sabbath ration.
I call Your names, I sing the cantillation
Of Torah and Qur'an for a brief hour.
I add to those sweet words remembrance sour
To call since I'm a dervish dog to run.
"Unclean, unclean" I bark at every bush
And slink away from glittering crowds that push.

47 "Also, if a garment has plague
Of leprosy in it, though vague
On woollen garment or on cloak
Of linen, 48 "whether it be spoke
In warp or woof of linen or
Of wool, whether in or before
Leather or anything made of
Leather, 49 "and if the plague above
Is greenish or reddish upon
The garment or in leather drawn,
Whether in the warp or in woof,
Or in anything else made proof
Of leather, it's a leprous plague
And shall be shown the priest not vague.
50 "The priest shall check the plague and keep
In ward the plague thing seven days.
51 "And he shall check the plague and peep
At it on the seventh of days.
If the plague has spread in the cloth,
Either in warp or woof, no moth,
In the leather or anything
Made of leather in fall or spring,
The plague's an active leprosy.
It is unclean for all to see.
52 "He shall therefore burn that garment
In which is the plague or its scent,
Whether warp or woof, or in wool
Or in linen, or any full
Of leather, for it is an active
Leprosy, it shall be detractive
And burned in fire. 53 "But if the priest
Examines it, finds not increased
The plague upon the garment spread,
Either in warp or woof with dread,
Or anything made of leather,
54 "Then the priest shall command confer
That they should wash what has the plague,
And he shall keep in a ward vague
Another seven days. 55 "The priest
Shall look at the plague when they've ceased
Its washing, and if it's not changed
The colour of the plague, though ranged
No further spreading, it's unclean,
And you shall burn to contravene
It in the fire, consuming still
Damage outside or in the fill.
56 "If the priest checks and finds it fade
After the plague washing is made,
Then he shall tear it out of place,
Whether out of the warp or trace
Out of the woof, or leather fine.
57 "If it appears again in twine,
Either in warp or woof, or in
Anything made of leather skin,
It is a spreading plague, you'll burn
With fire what the plague blights in turn.
58 "And if you wash the garment too,
Either warp or woof, to be true,
Or what is made of leather skin,
If the plague's disappeared within,
Then it shall be washed once again,
And shall be clean before all men.
59 "This is the law of leprous plague
In a garment not to be vague
Of wool or linen, either in
The warp or woof, or any skin,
To call clean or unclean therein."

My wife's father when asked to take a cur
And bury it by those who lost its fur,
Returned from funeral with dog-skin gloves
And so he lost the neighbour's heart and loves.
Is there a law for dog-skin leprosy,
Or does all dog-skin lack in purity?
I come to dergah to be slaughtered now,
A dervish dog from bare foot to my brow.
Beloved, as You wash my skin for the grave,
Do not fear to flay off fur from Your slave.
Let this be destiny glorious and great,
To become dog-skin muffler be my fate.
Beloved, put on Your dog-skin mittens when
Dispensing heavenly blessings to all men.

WEEK 28 LEVITICUS 14

1 Then YHWH spoke to Moses and said
2 "This shall be the law of the led
Leper for the day of his healing.
He shall be brought to the priest dealing.
The priest shall go out of the camp,
And the priest shall check out the scamp,
And indeed, if the leprosy
Is healed in the leper, 4 "then he
Shall command to take for him who
Is to be cleansed of clean birds two
Alive, and cedar wood, and scarlet,
And hyssop weed to cleanse the starlet.
5 "And the priest shall command that one
Of the birds to be killed and done
In an earthen vessel above
Running water. 6 "And as for of
The living bird, he shall take it,
The cedar wood and the scarlet
And hyssop, and dip them along
With the live bird, kicking and strong,
In the blood of the bird killed over
The running water without clover.
7 "And he shall sprinkle seven times
On him who's to be cleansed from grimes
Of leprosy, and shall pronounce
Him clean, and the living bird bounce
Out loose into the open field.
8 "He who is to be cleansed shall yield
His clothes to be washed, and shave off
All his hair, and wash in a trough
Of water, that he may be clean.
After that he shall then be seen
Come once again into the camp,
And shall stay outside his tent ramp
Seven days. 9 "But on seventh day
He'll shave all the hair from toupée
And his beard and his eyebrows too,
All hair shave off and through and through.
He'll wash his clothes and wash his body
In water, be clean and not soddy.

The Qalandar who shaves his head and beard
With eyebrows cut on public square looks weird.
Yet ancient is the law of purity
That counsels him to shave his vanity.
Lone dervish, rare sight in the modern world,
Whose only thought is for a flag unfurled
In duty to You, my Beloved unknown!
So many hearts have since been turned to stone
By magic wands of advertizing glitz.
Shaved and unseeing those, the dervish sits.
Shave not my head alone for purity,
But also mind and heart of all I see
That is not praise and worship given You.
Shave off the dross of everything I do.

"And on the eighth day he shall take
Two male lambs, unblemished steak,
One unblemished ewe lamb of first
Year, three-tenths of fine flour immersed
In oil as a grain offering, and
One log of oil. 11 "At the priest's hand
Who makes him clean shall the man be
Presented who's to be made free
And clean, and those things, before YHWH,
At door of meeting tent on cue.
12 "And the priest shall take one male lamb
And offer it as trespass ram
In offering, and the log of oil,
And wave them as a waving coil,
An offering before YHWH. 13 "Then he
Shall kill the lamb in place where he
Kills the sin offering and the burnt
Offering, in a holy place learnt,
For as the sin offering's the priest's,
So is the trespass offering feasts.
It is most holy. 14 "And the priest
Shall take some of the blood increased
Of the trespass offering, and shall
Put it on the tip radial
Of the right ear of him who is
To be cleansed, on the thumb of his
Right hand, and on the big toe of
His right foot. 15 "And the priest above
Shall take some of the log of oil,
And pour it out into the coil
Of the palm of his own left hand.
16 "Then the priest shall dip his right grand
Finger in the oil in left hand,
And shall sprinkle some of the oil
With his finger seven times before
YHWH. 17 "And the rest of the oil more
In his hand, the priest shall put some
On the tip of the right ear corps
Of him who's to be cleansed, on thumb
Of his right hand, and on the big
Toe of his right foot, on the swig
Of blood of the trespass offering.
18 "The rest of the oil that might cling
To the priest's hand he shall put on
The head of him who's cleansed anon.
So the priest shall make atonement
For him before YHWH as he's sent.
19 "Then the priest shall offer the sin
Offering, and make atonement in
Him who is to be cleansed from his
Uncleanness. Afterward he is
To kill the burnt offering. 20 "The priest
Shall offer the burnt offering feast
And the grain offering on the altar.
So the priest shall and without falter
Make atonement for him, and he
Shall be clean in his purity.

The priest shall sprinkle the blood seven times
To make for purity in ancient climes.
And what the dog has licked at first with soil
The man will wash with sand instead of oil
And seven times rinse in the water's flood
And so once more do without cleansing blood.
The sacrifice is not so much to say
What You require in blood and flesh for pay,
But as a limitation on the folk
Insisting that by slaying in one stroke
Their covenant with You is ratified.
Comparison's right here to take my pride
In offering and to leave the local bent.
Without dog dish I sit within my tent.

21 "But if he is poor and cannot
Afford it, then he'll take a shot
At one male lamb as a trespass
Offering to be waved, to compass
Atonement for him, one-tenth of
An ephah of fine flour above
Mixed with oil as a grain offering,
A log of oil, 22 "and two of spring
Turtledoves or two young pigeons,
Such as he's able without tons
Of wealth to afford: one shall be
A sin offering, the other fee
A burnt offering. 23 "He shall bring them
To the priest on the eighth day's hem
For his cleansing, and to the door
Of meeting tent, before YHWH's score.
24 "And the priest shall take the lamb of
The trespass offering, the log of
Oil, and the priest shall wave them as
A wave offering for YHWH has.
25 "Then he shall kill the lamb offering
Of trespass, and the priest shall bring
Some of the blood of the trespass
Offering and put it on the tip
Of the right ear of him who's trip
Is to be cleansed, and on the thumb
Of his right hand, and on the drum
Of the big toe of his right foot.
26 "And then the priest some oil shall put
Into the palm of his left hand.
27 "The priest shall sprinkle with his grand
Right finger some of the oil that
Is in his own left palm and flat
Seven times before YHWH. 28 "The priest
Shall put some of the oil decreased
That's in his hand on the tip of
The right ear of the one above
Who's to be cleansed, and on the thumb
Of the right hand, and then put some
On the big toe of his right foot,
On the place where the blood was put
Of the trespass offering. 29 "The rest
Of the oil that's in the priest's pressed
Hand he shall put on head of him
Who is to be cleansed, to make trim
Atonement for him before YHWH.
30 "And he shall offer one of two
Turtledoves or young pigeons, such
As he can afford, 31 "and as much
As he is able to afford,
The one as a sin offering scored,
The other as a burnt offering,
And along with the grain offering.
So the priest shall make atonement
For him who's to be cleansed and sent
Before YHWH. 32 "So this is the law
For one who had a leprous sore,
Who can't afford the usual store."

Your law, Beloved, is always different
And with a lesser demand to be spent
When applied to the poor, the lone dervish:
When others bring two lambs, he brings a dish.
When others bow and prostrate on the ground,
I leave off two prostrations where I'm found,
And pray the traveller's prayer, for I am bound,
I'm just a stranger here, and travelling round.
When others pay out alms and cleanse their way
By giving of their store in silver pay,
I hold out beggar's hand where others stay,
And take instead of gold Karbela's clay.
Though law is also made for dervish dog,
Beloved, I am still unclean in my fog.

33 And YHWH spoke to Moses and said
To Aaron also, 34 "When you're led
Into the land of Canaan, which
I give you as possession rich,
And I put the leprous plague in
A house in the land you dwell in,
35 "And he who owns the house comes and
Tells the priest, saying 'There's some brand
Of plague in the house as it seems,'
36 "Then the priest shall command the teams
To empty the house, before priest
Goes in to check if plague's increased,
That all that's in the house may not
Be made unclean by what is sought,
And afterward the priest shall go
In to check out the house and know.

The lords and judges indeed took my house
And emptied it of wood and straw and mouse,
So that the table set for glass and gold
Had to be taken out and timely sold.
The lords and judges here are always bold.
I truly prefer moose and deer and grouse.
It was no spot of red or green gave way
To steal my earthly treasures in their day,
But just the greed of those who make the laws
And those who find excuse if not a cause.
But You, Beloved, have blessed the humble hut
More than the palace lost to whom and what.
I thank You that the cool earth and the spring
Are here to hear my heart and my tongue sing.

37 "And he shall look around for plague,
And indeed if the plague's not vague
Upon the walls of the house with
Ingrained streaks, green or reddish kith,
Which seem to be deep in the wall,
38 "Then the priest shall go out of stall
To the door of the house, and shut
Up seven days the house or hut.
39 "And the priest shall come again on
The seventh day and look at dawn,
And indeed if the plague has spread
On the house walls in green or red,
40 "Then the priest shall command that they
Take away the stones in which stay
The plagues, and they shall cast them in
An unclean place outside town bin.
41 "And he shall cause the house to be
Scraped inside, all around, and free
The dust that they scrape off to pour
Out in an unclean place and store
Outside the city. 42 "Then they'll take
Other stones and put for their sake
In the place of those stones, and he
Shall take other mortar freely
And plaster the house. 43 "Now if plague
Comes back and breaks out on the leg
Of the house, after he has taken
Away the stones to be forsaken,
After he has scraped down the wall
Of the house, after it is all
Plastered, 44 "then the priest shall come look,
And indeed if the plague then took
And spread in the house, it must be
In the house active leprosy.
It is unclean. 45 "And he shall break
Down the house, and no pity take,
Its stones, its timber, all the plaster
Of the house, and he'll carry faster
Outside the city to unclean
Place. 46 "Moreover he who is seen
To enter house at all while it
Is shut, shall be unclean, unfit,
Until evening. 47 "And he who lies
Down in the house, not to despise,
Shall wash his clothes, and he who eats
In the house shall wash his clothes' sheets.

I should be glad that only land and gold
Have been taken away from house and fold.
They might have broken down the house as well,
Indeed they tried to do the thing a spell,
And left it leaning toward the lilac spring.
The stone foundations crack to find a sling.
But it was heathen priest who found the straw
To keep the wall well heated without thaw.
The role of priest from century to date
Changes from helper to turner of fate.
Beloved, I flee the modern and plagued store
Of houses where the mildew eats the floor.
Beloved, I eat and sleep within Your heart
Until the foe retrieves me with his dart.

48 "But if the priest comes in to see,
And indeed plague's not spread to be
In the house after the house was
Plastered, then the priest, as he does,
Shall declare the house clean, because
The plague is healed. 49 "And he shall take,
To cleanse the house, two birds, and stake
Of cedar wood, scarlet, and sprig
Of hyssop. 50 "Then he'll in a jig
Kill one of the birds in a clay
Pot over running water's way,
51 "And he shall take the cedar wood,
The hyssop, the scarlet, and good
The living bird, and dip them in
The blood of the slain bird in bin
And in the running water, and
Sprinkle on the house seven times.
52 "And he shall cleanse the house at hand
With the blood of the bird and slimes
And running water and the living
Bird, with the cedar wood, the sprig
Of hyssop, and the scarlet rig,
All things in sacrifice they're giving.
53 "Then he shall let the living bird
Go free outside the city, stirred
And in the open field, and make
Atonement for the house's sake,
And it shall be clean in a word.
54 "This is the law for any sore
That's leprous and for scale, what's more,
55 "For the leprosy of a cloak
And of a house, 56 "and for a soak
Swelling and a scab and bright dot,
57 "To teach when it is clean and not.
This is the law of leprous spot."

The leprosy's a talent of the skin
Of body, coat or house that I live in.
With scarlet, hyssop, cedar wood and blood
The curse is driven off as in a flood.
Four gates of air, earth, fire and troubled sea
In seven shakes reveal Your love to me.
I take the living bird within my soul
In bosom before Sultan as my goal
And grant submission to Your will and truth
Before the court and swear it all forsooth.
But when the smoke and blood and sacrifice
Of hyssop and of cedar in a trice
Are gone, I let the living pigeon go
To fly away across the fields and blow.

LEVITICUS 15

1 And YHWH spoke to Moses and said
Also to Aaron , 2 "Speak a shred
To Israel's folk, and say to them:
'When any man has an, ahem,
A discharge from his body, his
Discharge is unclean, so it is.
3 'And this shall be his uncleanness
In regard to his discharge mess
Whether his body runs with his
Discharge, or his body then is
Stopped up by his discharge, it is
His uncleanness. 4 'Every bed is
Unclean on which he comes to lie
Who has the discharge by and by,
And everything on which he sits
Shall be unclean, what he emits.
5 'And whoever touches his bed
Shall wash his clothes and bathe full-fled
In water, and be unclean till
The evening. 6 'He who sits for nil
On anything on which he who
Has the discharge sat shall come to
Wash his clothes and bathe in some clean
Water, and be unclean as seen
Until the evening. 7 'And he who
Touches the body of him who
Has the discharge shall wash his clothes
And bathe in water, and like those
Be unclean until evening. 8 'If
He who has the discharge in tiff
Spits on him who is clean, then he
Shall wash his clothes and bathe in water,
And be unclean till evening slaughter.
9 'Any saddle on which he who
Has the discharge rides shall be too
Unclean. 10 'Whoever touches what
Was under him shall be unwrought,
Unclean until the evening. He
Who carries anything in fee
Of those things shall wash his clothes and
Bathe in water and out of hand,
And be unclean till evening stand.
11 'And whomever the one who has
The discharge touches, and he has
Not rinsed his hands in water, he
Shall wash his clothes and bathe and be
In water, and be unclean till
The evening, that will fit the bill.
12 'The vessel of earth that he who
Has the discharge touches shall do
To be broken, and every plate
Of wood shall be rinsed in a rate
Of water. 13 'And when he who has
A discharge is cleansed of his jazz
Then he shall count for himself days
In number seven for his ways
Of cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe
His body in running and swathe
Water, and then he shall be clean.
14 'On the eighth day he shall take for
Himself two of turtledoves or
Two young pigeons, and come before
YHWH, to the tent of meeting's door,
And give them to the priest. 15 'The priest
Shall offer them, one as a feast
Sin offering and the other as
A burnt offering. Then the priest has
Made atonement for him to YHWH
Because of his discharge and goo.
16 'If any man has an emission
Of semen, then he'll wash his bun
And all his body in water,
And be unclean till eve occur.
17 'And any garment, any skin
Of leather on which there has been
His semen, it shall be washed in
Water, and be unclean till eve.
18 'Also, when one lies to conceive
With a man, and there is emission
Of semen, then in their condition
They shall bathe in water, and be
Unclean until the eve's decree.

The rate of purity for illness and
For normal emissions might quite well stand
Comparison with rites of purity
As they are done today for You to see.
The concepts and the practices remain
Startlingly similar through years and gain.
Beloved, I wash both hand and cover but
Remain unclean in Your sight if for what
The issue of my heart and tongue reveal
To be the stony reserves that I feel
Are too much mine to sacrifice to You.
Once turtledoves sufficed, pigeon or two,
But now I bring myself entire to stand
As sacrifice before Your tent and hand.

19 'If a woman has a discharge,
And the discharge from her body
Is blood, she shall not go at large
But be set apart seven wee
Days, and whoever touches her
Shall be unclean till eve occur.
20 'Everything that she lies upon
During her impurity gone
Shall be unclean, also each scene
That she sits on shall be unclean.
21 'Whoever then touches her bed
Shall wash his clothes and bathe full-fled
In water, and be unclean till
The evening come and fill the bill.
22 'And he who touches anything
That she sat on from bed to spring
Shall wash his clothes and bathe in water,
And be unclean till evening slaughter.
23 'If anything is on her bed
Or on a place where she sits dread,
When he touches it, he shall be
Unclean until evening's decree.
24 'And if any man lies with her
So her impurity refer
To him, he shall be unclean for
Seven days, and every bed score
On which he lies shall be unclean.
25 'If a woman has discharge seen
Of blood for many days, but not
At the time of her normal plot
Impurity, or if it runs
Beyond her usual time of shuns,
All days of her unclean discharge
Shall be as the days of her large
And customary uncleanness.
She shall be unclean for address.
26 'And every bed on which she lies
All the days her discharges rise
Shall be to her as bed of her
Impurity, and where impure
She sits shall be unclean for sure,
As the uncleanness of impure.
27 'Whoever then touches those things
Shall be unclean, he'll wash in springs
His clothes and bathe in water too,
And be unclean till evening dew.
28 'But if she is cleansed of discharge,
Then she shall count her seven large
Days, and after that she'll be clean.
29 'And on the eighth day when it's seen
She'll take herself two turtledoves
Or two young pigeons, and in gloves
Bring them to the priest, to the door
Of tent of meeting. 30 'Then in store
The priest shall offer the one as
A sin offering, the other as
A burnt offering, and the priest shall
Make atonement purifical
For her before YHWH for discharge
Of her uncleanness and at large.
31 'Thus you shall separate the folk
Of Israel from their unclean croak,
Lest they die in their uncleanness
When they defile My tent's address
That is among them. 32 'This is law
For one who has a discharge raw,
And for him who emits semen
And is unclean thereby of men,
33 'Also for her who's indisposed
Because an impure thing disclosed,
And for one who has a discharge,
Either man or woman at large,
And for him who lies with her who
Is unclean, all these things they'll do.'"

For the uncleanness regular of men
And women, there is washing once again.
But for the illness and exceptional
There is avoidance of the bed and sal
For seven days. Belovèd, so I'm bound
From week to week I find I am unsound,
Avoided by the populace and pure
Upon an unclean place upon the ground.
I seek the waters cool and presence sure
Where You, Beloved, remake earth and abound
In six days for the rising of the wind.
But I'm not even sure that I have sinned.
My customary discharge of complaint
May be the way of every soul that's saint.

WEEK 29 LEVITICUS 16

1 Now YHWH spoke to Moses after
The death of the two sons that were
Of Aaron , when they offered vain
And profane fire before YHWH's reign,
And died, 2 and then YHWH said to Moses
Of Aaron and what he proposes,
"Tell Aaron your brother not to
Come at just any time into
The holy place inside the veiling,
Before the mercy seat availing
Which is on the ark, lest he die,
For I'll appear in cloud there by
The mercy seat. 3 "Thus Aaron shall
Come into holy capital
With a young bull's blood as a sin
Offering, and of a ram akin
As a burnt offering. 4 "He shall put
The holy linen tunic foot
To head, linen trousers upon
His body, he shall be full drawn
With a linen sash, and with turban,
Made of linen and yet suburban,
He'll be attired, and these are holy
Garments, therefore he'll wash his lowly
Body in water, put them on.

I wash myself and put the clothing on
That is demanded for atonement's dawn.
A high priest of the last year's swallow's nest,
I seek to do my duty with the rest.
I enter the sanctum of pine and fir
And tramp across the lichens that once were
Dry in the summer scattering of sun,
But are now wet since spring thaws have begun.
I search the holy hill for mercy seat
And shining presence of divine retreat,
And find a snowy path to fit the bill,
While all around me hymnodies are still.
The fast and froth have passed me, and affliction
Of soul is stilled beneath my firm conviction.

5 "And he shall take from congregation
Of Israel's folk two kids in ration
Of the goats as a sin offering,
And one ram as a burnt offering.
6 "Aaron shall offer the bull as
A sin offering, which himself has,
And make atonement for himself
And for his house, human and elf.
7 "He shall take the two goats, present
Them before YHWH at door of tent
Of meeting. 8 "Then Aaron shall cast
Lots for the two goats: one lot passed
For YHWH, and then the other lot
For the scapegoat tied on the spot.
9 "And Aaron shall bring the goat on
Which YHWH's lot fell when it was drawn,
And offer it as a sin offering.
10 "But the goat on which the lot proffering
Fell to be the scapegoat shall be
Presented alive before Me,
YHWH, to make atonement upon,
And to let it go scapegoat on
Into the wilderness. 11 "And Aaron
Shall bring the bull of sin to share in
The offering, which is for himself,
And make atonement for himself
And for his house, and kill the bull
As the sin offering for his halter
12 "Then he shall take a censer full
Of burning coals of fire from altar
Before YHWH, with his hands full of
Sweet incense beaten fine above,
And bring it all inside the veil.
13 "And he shall put the incense tale
On the fire before YHWH, so that
The cloud of incense where it's at
May cover the mercy seat that
Is on the testimony, lest
He die. 14 "He shall take of the best
Of the bull's blood and sprinkle it
With his finger where it may fit
Upon the mercy seat on east
And before mercy seat increased
He shall sprinkle some of the blood
With his finger seven times in flood.

Beloved, choose me for the scapegoat set free
To wander in the wilderness and be
Hidden from sight of men and in the glare
Of Your own presence shining everywhere.
Beloved, choose me by every quirk of fate
That chances purchase from the dawn and late,
And set me once before the holy tent
A day when the shekinah bore its scent.
Beloved, choose me like any other goat
To stand before the tablets that You wrote
For Moses in his judgements what to quote.
Beloved, choose me of any two You find
Among the spotless and the lame and blind,
And make me one with You, and be so kind.

15 "Then he shall come to kill the goat
Of the sin offering, which he wrote
For the people, and bring its blood
Inside the veil, do with that blood
As he did with the blood of bull,
And sprinkle on mercy seat full
And before the mercy seat too.
16 "So he shall make atonement to
The holy place, because of what
Is unclean that Israel's folk got,
And because of their transgressions,
For all their sins without home-runs,
And so he shall do for the tent
Of meeting which remains present
Among them in the middle of
Their uncleanness mentioned above.
17 "There shall be no man in the tent
Of meeting when he goes to make
Atonement in the holy wake,
Until he comes out, that he may
Make atonement and in that way
For himself, for his household, and
For all Israel's assembled band.
18 "And he shall go out to the altar
That is before YHWH, and not falter
To make atonement for it, and
Shall take some of bull's blood in hand
And some of the blood of the goat,
And put it on the horns remote
Of the altar and all around.
19 "Then he shall sprinkle some blood found
On it with his finger seven times,
Cleanse it, and consecrate its grimes
From Israel's folk's uncleanly crimes.

Sprinkle my blood, Beloved, and seven times
Upon the altar horns and for my crimes
Upon the mercy seat where You stand fast
Above the cherubim who seem to last,
Because they're made of gold and don't decay
The way You and I do along the way,
Who have no body made of gold, but clay.
Sprinkle my blood, Beloved, on mercy seat
That I may find in You a mercy's treat,
And bear my blood upon the altar horns
Up high enough to miss my feet and corns.
I prance in circle sacrifice and prayer
With my life-blood upon my shirt and hair
And find Your footsteps dancing everywhere.

20 "And when he has made an end of
Atoning for the holy cove,
The tabernacle of meeting,
And the altar, then he shall bring
The live goat. 21 "Aaron shall lay both
His hands on the head for an oath
Of the live goat, confess on it
All of Israel's folk's sins to wit,
Where all of their transgressions sit,
Concerning all their sins, to put
Them on the head and not the foot
Of the goat, and send it away
Into the wilderness to stay
By the hand of a man well fit.
22 "The goat shall bear on itself all
Their iniquities and in thrall
To an uninhabited land,
And he'll release the goat in hand
Into the wilderness to stand.
23 "Aaron shall come into the tent
Of meeting, shall take off garment
Of linen which he had put on
When he went in the holy drawn,
And shall leave them there. 24 "And he shall
Wash body with water withal
In a holy place, put on his
Garments, come out and offer his
Burnt offering and the burnt one
Of the people, and then make done
Atonement for himself and folk.
25 "The fat of the sin offering stoke
Upon the altar. 26 "And he who
Released the goat as scapegoat due
Shall wash his clothes and bathe his body
In water, then come in the soddy,
And afterward come back to camp.
27 "The bull for the sin offering's lamp
And the goat for the sin offering,
Whose blood was atonement to bring
In the holy place, shall be brought
Outside the camp where they'll be caught
Up in the fire, their skins, their flesh,
And also offal, not too fresh.
28 "He who burns them shall wash his clothes
And bathe his body in the rose
Of water, and afterward he
May come into the camp freely.

He who sets me free in the wilderness
Must also pause to cleanse him from the mess.
Indeed, I am set in that woeful place
By many hands who would not see my face,
And so defiled they turn to mark their time
In a world governed by their crime in rhyme.
It is my fate, God-given fate before
Your gracious face and before Your tent door
To be the beast by which men are defiled
Who cannot walk a desert and be mild.
For such to sacrifice another must
Be the sole way to rise up from the dust.
Beloved, I seek no rising here at all,
But in the blanching desert hear Your call.

29 "This shall be a statute always
For you, in the seventh month's days,
On the tenth of the month, afflict
Your souls, and do no work you've picked,
Whether a native of your own
Country or a stranger alone
Who dwells among you. 30 "On that day
The priest shall make atonement stay
For you, to cleanse you, that you may
Be clean from all sins before YHWH.
31 "It's a sabbath of rest for you,
And you'll afflict your souls as due
Always by law. 32 "And the priest, who
Is anointed and consecrated
To minister as priest as fated
In his father's stead, then shall make
Atonement, and linen clothes take,
Upon himself the holy cloak,
33 "Then he shall make atonement's stroke
For the holy temple, and he
Shall make atonement faithfully
For the tent of meeting and for
The altar, from ceiling to floor,
And he shall make atonement for
The priests, the congregation's folk.
34 "This shall be an everlasting
Statute for you, to make the thing
In atonement for Israel's folk,
For all their sins, and once a year."
He did as YHWH told Moses' ear.

The tenth day of the first month I return
Afflicting my soul on the rocky burn.
It is a Sabbath of rest for my soul,
Who has not thirsted on the last atoll.
It is a fast, if fast affliction be,
To make a sorrowing and memory
Of every sacrifice of self unknown
And represented in Karbela's bone.
The tenth day of the first month I atone
If atonement can rend the sky apart
To bring down rain from brass and fill with art
A leaden field beneath the holy feet.
Give, my Beloved, to all such souls to eat,
And if not rain, at least a freezing sleet.


AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN


Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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