BY LAWRENCE HALL

The Bronze Serpent

(See Numbers 21:6-9, John 3:14-21)

Moses established a serpent within the camp

A fiery brazen serpent upon a pole

And all who looked upon it were thereby cured

Cured of their judgments slithering through the dust

Alexander the Coppersmith

2 Timothy 4:14

We don’t know much about the coppersmith

(Indeed, we don’t know much about each other)

The works of an artist’s hands may serve the Lord

Or else they serve Ephesian vanities

If a man is going to mold metals into idols

Diana of Ephesus might be pleasing aesthetically

But better to dismiss Diana and other trumperies

And joy in the gold of the Servant’s words

For power and jewels and golden toilet bowls

Are baubles that blind our eyes and darken our souls

(But still, I hope Alexander made things right)