The Eaten Years
"I will restore to you the years
That the swarming locust has eaten"
Joel 2:25a
Name the swarm Bitterness,
blown in by the eastern wind.
Bile-bloated abdomens,
bladed mandibles click grim.
Hear their crepitation thicken,
crescendos of distortion crash.
Mourn the sweetness of peace
as good harvests turn to ash.
Who can answer sound and fury?
Who can meet Hate's appetite?
Who can bear to sow good deeds
on the land condemned to blight?
Humbly were the prophets clothed,
wild honeyed-meekness fed,
waiting for the years restored,
for Love to conquer, as He said.
Ryan Helvoigt is a poet based near Denver, Colorado where she lives with her husband and three children. Her poetry has been published in Ekstasis, Clayjar Review, Fathom magazine, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and Amethyst Review.
Amethyst Review 