Naked Isaiah; Isaiah: Light to the Nations - Tim Knipp (Isa. 20:1-6)

Exposed flesh roughens,
snags on sharp edges.
Pores clog
and creases gather
sweat and 
granulated dust.

Unclad and unshod -
Isaiah went about
for twelve seasons,
enduring ridicule
and muttered assessments
of his sanity
or lack thereof:
serving
as God's extended
audacious
metaphor. 

Your life is a masterpiece,
each brush stroke matters -
even the mundane routines
and seemingly forgettable prattle.
All of you and each moment
and breath speaks;
varied hues shade your glances,
your words bleed
and blend;
your gestures interpret
your heartbeats.

If your daily words 
were the lyrics of a symphony,
what instruments
would sing your voice?
I cringe to think of mine as 
discordant screeches 
or thundering timpani. 
What lasting images
will I leave behind
in the minds of those
who have known me?

Oh, let the lovely images
outshine the sordid!
Help me to be open 
to inspiration
and drawn to its Source.
Let me inhale complexities
of genre and
created substance,
molding metaphors 
from the daily stuff
of existence.

Let naked Isaiah's
blushing and dusted
backside
glimmer golden
as he shuffles 
into the 
setting crimson
sunset.