June twenty-fourth - a day to keep in mind,
Marks Summer Solstice - Feast of Baptist John!.
If you watch skies and hours you will find
The days are getting shorter from thereon.

The days, like Prophet John, show a decrease,
Ebb imperceptibly, and grow more faint,
Though vernal splendor graces fields and leas.
The waning days speak of diminishment.

A voice bade John in the great wilderness:
“Make straight the path and fill the valleys out,-
Do not as Joshua did, attack, aggress,
But dip, and raise a Herald’s voice and “shout!”.

Of priestly stock, -the scion of a priest,
John spurned high office and proud family,
And the authorities, greatly displeased
Frowned at his independent ministry.

John warned against the smug complacency
And cock-sure pride in physical descent
That boasted Abraham’s great legacy,
Instead of changing hearts and to repent. .

A fascinating charismatic figure,
He held the people spellbound and in thrall,
And taught and preached with fire and with vigor,
To crowds that came to him and heard his call.

Stern and austere, yet full of charity,
And great compassion for the much down-trod,
He taught the masses how to struggle free,
From sins by dipping and to turn to God.

He cleansed and baptized by the Jordan’s bank,
And people flocked the Herald’s voice to hear,
Folk of the highest and the lowest rank,
The temple hecklers found him too austere.



So fierce a prophet, John seems somewhat rough,
His locust diet and his garb bizarre,
He preached of threshing, winnowing, burning chaff,
Yet unto him they thronged from near and far.

John’s audience, pedestrian and poor
Whose shekels might soon stop to ring-
For temple watchdogs in their rich parure-
A rattling thought, - a disconcerting thing.

The soldier, tax collector and the thief
Cleansed by John’s rite from sin - and without pay,
Unauthorized such bold alternative ,
It could not but give rise to great dismay.

The student of John’s pride - had taken off,-
To whom he’d pointed self-effacingly,
To preach elsewhere of pardon and of love,.
Attracting eager crowds near Bethany.

Two more disciples left soon after that
But John had not protested nor demurred,
Some more might soon depart and John felt sad
He loved his charges, and the mentor hurt..

He’d pointed to the OTHER,- -prophesies-
Himself a prophet knew a prophet’s lot,
Tool, to irradiate the mysteries.
And purposeful designs and plans of God.

He carried out his mission till the king,
Fox Herod by John’s utterances irked
Had him conveyed into a dungeon’s wing
At Machaerus where ghostly shadows lurked.

Withdrawn from him the gift of prophesy,
John felt encompassed by a deepening night,-
The Dark Night of the Soul - obscurity-
Grueling test to be debarred from light.

He sent disciples out to ask if He,
His pride’s disciple was the one to come
The one expected to set Israel free
To Whom he’d pointed to: “Behold the Lamb!”

John yearned for reassurance, certainty,
And flung himself against the iron bars
Awaiting a reply - what would it be?
And meanwhile looked for answers to the stars..

The reply came - a well- known scripture verse:
“The blind can see, the lame walk“.-and so on,
A verse that anybody could rehearse,
No clear-cut answer for tormented John.

Well, draw your own conclusions from it friend- -
Perhaps his cause was futile and ruled out
No twinkling star helped him to understand,
None kept him company but nagging doubt..

The hour came when in the dungeon dark
The henchman pushed the heavy block to suit,
The blade descended and it found its mark,
Grim job - perhaps Fox Herod’s henchman rued.

John died- diminished - and the prophet‘s head
Lay on the golden platter - grisly gore-
While the great Baptist’s glorious spirit fled
To point the index of his hand no more.




Bonfire logs on hilltops flame and singe
June twenty- fourth - for him whose speech was rough;
The days decline, and nature feels a twinge
And bows to John in reverence, awe and love.



Elizabeth Dandy

On The eve of St. John bonfires are lit on many hilltops and mountain crests and young people jump over the logs in great celebration

The Dowsers look for the curative St. John's Wort with the dowsing rod, beating the ground searching for the precious medicinal root.










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Copyright © Elizabeth_Dandy ... [2005-06-2107:15:17]
(Date/Time posted on site)