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Lot's Wife (Hourglass Eyes)

by Max Bouillet

"But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."
--Genesis 19:26

"Of whose wickedness even to this day the waste land that smoketh is a testimony, and plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeness: and a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul."
--Wisdom of Solomon 10:7


Time sifts through her veins;
she is the broken hourglass
that has seen God.

She bleeds salt from
sandblasted stigmatas
and cries sand from
ever open eyes.

Parched parted lips reveal
a scorpion's tail
that strikes her throat
with every attempt to speak.

The wind scatters her
yet she cannot forget herself;
her consciousness spreads
with each windborne grain
until she envelopes humanity
and swallows their sin.

She is an ever-eroding
warning from God
--that I sprinkle on my food.

01/02/2004

Posted on 01/02/2004
Copyright © 2024 Max Bouillet

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Mara Meade on 01/02/04 at 11:39 PM

And yet Christians are called to be "the salt of the earth." See... you always make me think. But yes, the poem is, as said above, dry and arid, more like a preservative than a spice...

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 01/03/04 at 03:54 AM

WOW! Great symbolism! Thought provoking!

Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 01/03/04 at 06:34 AM

you have a wonderful knack of taking something, mixing it up and throwing it precisely where we need it: in our face... isn't this interesting... profound and thought provoking... good job... blessings...

Posted by Alison McKenzie on 01/04/04 at 02:05 AM

YIKES!!! I never thought of it that way. Ok. Ummmm....I may be thinking twice before I reach for that little shaker again...LOL

Posted by Ginette T Belle on 01/04/04 at 04:31 PM

quite vivid...i loved reading this...

Posted by David R Spellman on 01/05/04 at 10:01 PM

An excellent follow-on to the biblical story. Thought provoking and haunting in its imagery. Masterfully done.

Posted by Alex Smyth on 03/10/04 at 03:15 AM

Gosh, Max. As if I don't ALREADY have enough issues with food...and God...and guilt...:o)

Posted by Glenn Currier on 03/31/04 at 04:24 PM

Your poem crosses continents and centuries and brings a blessing to all of our lookings-back, touching our regrets with Love. Great poem, my friend.

Posted by Jeanne Marie Hoffman on 04/15/04 at 07:00 PM

"She bleeds salt from sandblasted stigmatas and cries sand from ever open eyes." Great stanza! Also, I love the twist at the end

Posted by Lindsay Sanders on 05/01/04 at 08:53 PM

oh i loved this. i always enjoy pieces that mess with your mind just a tad. brilliant max!

Posted by Melanie J Yarbrough on 05/20/05 at 04:15 AM

"the wind scatters her/yet she cannot forget herself" --nice. funny ending

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