Thursday 16 March 2017

Dinah

Shechem’s Woman

The complexity of Law
Leaves men’s blood upon the floor
Of the home I should have known
And the seeds I should have sown
Are stolen by my brothers
To prevent my being mother
To a nation made of converts
For our purity it would subvert.

They said that I was wronged
That I could never here belong
Yet they wanted land to gain
Ignoring all my pain
Ensuring three days’ tarry
To prevent that we should marry.
Instead of marriage bed
My husband now is dead.

So now we’ll never see
What might have come to be
Had Shechem been a Jew
Beyond a day or two.
But Jacob’s beloved daughter
Saw salvation's slaughter -
Vengeance, hate and pride
Prevented Dinah’s bride.

(Dinah – Genesis 34)

© 2017, A.Koh-Butler

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