The Baptist Speaks from the River

You have been given authority:
To heal,
To bless,
To forgive.

The blood clots torn skin.
The lungs cough up phlegm.
The fever kills invasion
And the kidneys filter it out.
Shall we wait for the trumpet blast?
Shall men on horses do the work?
On whose authority shall we do good
Today?

I've felt the warmth of the sun on my face,
A gentle breeze as it passes through open window,
The singing of robins and cardinals,
The katydid chirping art the full moon,
And the roaring of the Niagara River as it falls.
Shall we, human, wait for permission to move hearts, too?
Shall we dam the floods
And stay dry above the levees?

The tiger maws the fawn.
The silent striped bass has no mercy upon a vigilant frog.
The tree snake will not pass by fledglings without feasting.
Let us fall from our nests!
Let us drown in the lakes!
Let us strangle ourselves in vines
That hang from the canopy!

On whose authority shall we drop our swords?
On whose authority shall we sit in peace upon the holy mountain?
On whose authority shall we escape the jaws of death?

Let us wait for a sign
As crocodiles walk the muddy floor
Beneath our sinking feet.