""The Vision That Isaiah the Son of Amoz Saw,"" poetry

Introduction

Isaiah covers about 46 years (approximately 778 to sometime after 732 BCE). It prophecies the fall of ten-tribe Israel (Israel falls to Assyria in 740 BCE) and two-tribe Judah (Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 607 BCE). Why did they fall? Because of the innocent blood that flowed in too many streets and the apostasy that fouled too many hearts. But it also foretells the repatriation of Jerusalem with faithful servants of Jehovah (which takes place in 537 BCE), who will once again fill the streets with voices ringing with joy, reinforcing that Isaiah's name means "Salvation of Jehovah." Prophecies speak too of days in the distant future, in the last days of our system of things (Isaiah 2:2-4), when witnesses of Jehovah fill every corner of earth with their rejoicing in the saving power of their God.

An excerpt

Chapter 1

A bull,
I am,
Without thoughts of
My own copper bones,

A great animal,
I'm told,

Of the zodiac,
I am Taurus,

And
I am Marduk upon Babylon
Upon the Euphrates
Sea,

I am Apis of Memphis,
Mnevis of Heliopolos,

I am famous because I can
Transform a chariot into
Kindling,

I'm told,

Unlike my master who forgets
His,
I am a simple draft
Animal,
like the donkey
Who finds peace in its
Owner.

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).