Thomas John Carlisle (You! Jonah!)

The Great Intruder

It is exasperating

To be called

So persistently

When the last thing

We want to do 

Is get up

And go

But God

Elects

To keep on

Haunting

Like some

Holy Ghost 

Addiction

Consistently Jonah

Chided his stupid

And incredible

Creator

For His addiction

To mercy

As though

It were some

Miracle drug.

A Deity ought

To be dependably

Capricious

To keep The natives in line

A G-bomb

on an overpopulated

Slum

Would wipe out

delinquency

In a hurry.

Naturally Nineveh

would make a perfect

Target

Once he himself

was safely

outside

Counselor to the almighty

Think twice before You pardon.

Men repent

Even in ashes

But repent again

Of their repentance

Take the wiser bias

Of my advice.

Confine Your charity

To such good neighbors

as Your humble servant

Coming Around

And Jonah stalked

to his shaded seat

and waited for God to come around 

to his way of thinking.

And God is still waiting

for a host of Jonahs

in their comfortable houses

to come around

To His way of loving