""Now It Came About in the Days When the Judges"": poetry

Revised Edition: LukivPress (Victoria, BC), 2022.

Introduction

Likely written by Samuel, the prophet, in 1090 BCE, the book of Ruth tells a story of loyalty, or loving-kindness, between two widowed women: Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth. The story covers approximately 11 years, and opens with the women arriving in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. The pain of their widowhood, although not erased, meets up with great blessings from Jehovah that underscore not only his obvious interest in the Messianic lineage (Ruth, a Moabitess, will become an ancestor of Christ), but also his warmth towards loyal servants who need practical help.

An excerpt

Chapter 1

Naomi, wife of dead Elimelech,
In the days of 12 saviours, you
Escaped drought and famine
In Moab, but not widowhood,
Nor did you find comfort in the
Strength of Mahlon, the one who
Grows weak, nor in Chilion, the
One failing. O your buried sons!
Naomi-"Pleasantness" sang your
Hebrew root, but Mara-
"O bitterness" you became. Cymbals
Clashed out your consonants. History
Records your empty womb
And ripe humiliation,
But the loving-kindness of your God
Will wrap you in Ruth's heart
And give you, like the widow of
Zarephath, a better place in time.

The author

Dan Lukiv, published in 19 countries, is a poet, novelist, columnist, short story and article writer, and independent education researcher (hermeneutic phenomenology). As a creative writer, he apprenticed with Canada's Professor Robert Harlow (recipient of the George Woodcock Achievement award for an outstanding literary career), the USA's Paul Bagdon (Spur Award finalist for Best Original Paperback), and England's D. M. Thomas (recipient of the Cheltenham Prize for Literature, Orwell Prize [biography], Los Angeles Fiction Prize, and Cholmondeley award for poetry). He attended The University of British Columbia (creative writing department), the acclaimed Humber School for Writers (poetry writing program), and Writer's Digest University (novel writing program).