I built you an ark…

I stood before him
	naked,
		waiting.

How would he judge me? I asked.

One after another they came
	up to his throne
		and I waited.
He spoke to each
	then in the silence
		they waited.
Too far to hear,
	I saw some walk beyond,
		some fall away.

At last,
	he called my name
		and I approached.

“What did you do?” He asked.

Silence, nervous silence.

I spoke.

“I built you an ark.”

A lone tear flowed down his cheek,
	it took forever
		to reach
			his chin…
	it dangled,
		for a moment,
			hanging,
				precariously…
I waited for it to fall
	then I saw
		in his tear
			a sight:

a poor man on the side of the street
	begging for food
		and shelter;
a naked man under a bridge
	huddled in the corner
		wrapped in newspapers;
a man in a cell
	cold steel and
		silent emptiness surrounding him.

The tear fell.

The floor dropped out below me
	and I,
		with the tear,
			fell forever…
always the same
	cold, naked, and alone,
		falling deeper
			and further…
the throne ever behind the tear,
	yet ever distant from me
		ever asking…

“What did you do?”

All I could say,
	the only words my mouth could form,
		“I built you an ark.”