Dance of the Marionette - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

He rose to speak of not one
but the dance of two kings
two men of different moment
different weight in the eyes, the memory of God

one danced at the sense of joy
the feeling of wonder, happiness
in the presence of the creator, protector of his people

the other, danced the dance
of a marionette
with a few too many masters
and tangled string
dancing to someone else’s tune
knowing the at some level the fate
he would bear for the choice
to dance

a pawn on the larger stage
and in his home

a king in name
but not in reality
pushed by masters
to follow their lead
not his own heart
knowing the wrong
he committed

Juxtaposed, these kings
the anointed boy, a new shepherd
and the jaundiced puppet
playing their parts
dancing it would seem
to very different tunes

July 16, 2006 13:38
Based on the sermon, “The Dances of Kings”, by the Reverend Peter Avery Hey, Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH, on the dance of King David in 2 Samuel 6:12b-19 and the seeming dance of King Herod in Mark 6:14-29. David danced at the procession bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. Herod danced himself into beheading John the Baptist even though he knew John was a holy man.