Balaam’s Ass
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes
Lord, how long must I endure
This foolish beast, this simple ass?
Must I forever be turned aside
By this donkey’s desire for grass?
Lord, how long must I, blindly led
Through stinking ditch and soggy field,
Be subject to this foolish beast?
Lord, have mercy! Make him yield!
Crushed, I cursed this beast, lost
My temper, struck, strove for mastery,
Raged, shook with fury, cried aloud:
“Lord, in my need, extreme, I turn to Thee!
God! Grant me a sword, and I will
Smite him, strike, bleed him, teach him
To refuse the narrow place!
God! Grant me just one seraphim. . .”
L. Eugene Startzman
Published in Christianity and Literature
[XXIV 1 Fall 1974]
