Noah’s Novitiate

“Noah!” shouted the Lord from behind the clouds,

“How does thy ship-building project process?

By now there should be critters milling about in crowds;

For mine ti leaves doth flutter, waiting for thine ark to bless.”

“Ahem,” replied Noah, “Sir, sir, we are running a bit late, I fear.

An unexpected shortage of gopher wood didst appear.

And one more thing, Lord, while I hath thine ear—

Not having yet reached the Iron Age, one of history’s turning points,

In an effort to construct proper beams and joints,

We are forced to labor languidly without proper tools.”

“Noah,” saith the Ruler of the Universe, still out of sight,

“Make sure your ship’s joints are sealed and watertight,

Otherwise you will play the part of floundering fools.”

Noah, the novice shipwright repeated, “Our tools, sire, our tools!

The work doth crawl at a snail’s pace,

We have no blade, no spade, no axe, no tacks, only stones of flint

To chip and chop, peel and plane, to splice and splint.”

Then whispering with divine authority the hidden voice didst say,

“And make sure you have enough food, nuts, berries, and hay.”

Noah turned around with a puzzled, forlorn look of dismay.

“This is absurd.

I’ve not been heard.

I thought this voyage,” he mused,

Obviously a bit confused,

“This voyage was to be one of judgment mixed with grace.

But now of divine directions there seems little trace.

How will I ever finish my task,” he thought, “at this pace?”

 

Nearly at his wit’s end, when many new ideas do arrive,

Something caught his ear, his eye, and a plan came alive.

“You Beavers,” he shouted, “go cut down gopher wood for more;

And you Elephants, use your strength to carry logs to the watery shore;

And you Smalltooth Sawfish, swimming in treacherous tides,

Be ready to cut the gopher wood to shape and size.

And you wily Woodpeckers, now is your chance to ply your sport.

Make openings for windows and an exit for when we come to port.

 

Then unfolded a drama quite by surprise,

A cooperative conspiracy until now under disguise

Of Lion, Lamb, and Cow,

Wolf, Tiger, and Sow,

All cast together in a creative common cause

Defying what all had thought were immutable natural laws

Of enmity, conflict and fierce rivalry.

Now they worked side by side, in joyful revelry

Carrying lumber, lifting a beam,

While Noah watched the building of his dream.

“What a great idea that was,” Noah thought.

“To direct these animals heretofore untaught.”

“Ahem!” a sound like a distant warning clap of thunder

“Noah,” hinted the Lord, “thy self-satisfaction makes me wonder

If thou dost recall how I employ my creative aims

By giving creatures freedom for their own gamboling games

By enticing beings toward empathy and caring,

By luring individuals toward generous sharing,

By filling you with dreams of adventure, love and peace,

A challenge that never seems to cease.

You must fill the ark with your own ingenuity,

Keeping your eye on the prize without ambiguity.

These dreams of mutual accord, of food and plenty for all,

Are only dreams until you get on the ball.

To fill this ark with its passenger list

Everyone must assist.