Many waited, Simeon knew. Waited for David's heir to ride with blade unsheathed, Elijah's fire to fall on the heathen, a dreamer to speak YAH's very words.
Simeon waited for consolation.
The Fear drove him into the temple, to them. He said little of what It had shown him, the all-enveloping Word contracted to their squalling bundle, flames rising on the heads of the righteous. When the mother turned her young, confused, Galilean face to him, he found himself speaking of a hill, a hanging tree, a sword piercing her soul.
Afterward, satisfied, he only waited for his final breath.
Postscript: To listen to audio of this and other stories, please download Season One of the I Saw Lightning Fall podcast here.
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21 comments:
Marginal Notes
"Simeon" is based on a somewhat obscure character from the nativity story; for background, see Luke 2:22-35.
... YAH's very words. A poetic form of Yahweh; see Song of Songs 8:6, alternative reading.
The Fear ... A rare name for God, used only twice in the biblical text; see Genesis 31:42, 53.
This one is really powerful. I never knew about "The Fear" name. Really interesting! I love this idea of pulling religious textual themes for a story.
Handsomely done, Loren.
I love the Simeon one. Excellente.
Having just been in Genesis, the Fear of Isaac is fresh on my mind. It makes perfect sense, considering his youth.
Great job.
Oh, and the other is delightfully strange!
I like the foretelling atmosphere that you get here and the voice is great. The notes are interesting (not necessary since the story stands on its own without them) and enlightening. Simeon sounds like an interesting variant.
I did post a story for the event but I'm not sure how or where to link it.
Should I email you?
More comments forthcoming. Gotta get to work!!
I really like this and your reading of it. It's rich.
I'd much rather have Simeon than Shark-o Claus from "First Picture."
Nice and thick, this one. Nice and thick.
I have been contemplating Simeon for a few weeks now. I feel I know him a little better now. Well done.
I appreciate the footnotes/links as well since I too, was unfamiliar with
"the Fear" at least as it refers to God.
Prophecies are scary. Simeon sounds like an interesting character to explore in a story.
.......dhole
Very cool. He was lead into the temple by the "Holy Ghost" kind of ghost story. Very thick, ominous, and rightly inspiring. :)
Michelle,
Thanks! I've always found that name very evocative. It's was fun to incorporate it into this piece.
S.D.
Glad you liked it, sir!
Aidan,
Glad you thought it stood on its own. I wasn't entirely sure. Biblical stuff can be kind of hit or miss because not everyone has the textual background.
Phil,
Gracias! Honestly, I'm a little (or more than a little) uncomfortable being in the same room with my recorded voice. Glad you liked it, though.
B.,
Shark-o-claus is definitely less friendly, methinks.
Eutychus,
Glad the marginal notes were helpful. I debated putting them in, but decided they were necessary in the end.
Donna,
They sure are, aren't they? Another interesting Bible trivia tidbit: The Hebrew word for "prophesy" or "oracle" is the same word as "burden." I find that fascinating.
Ollwen,
You got it exactly! That was just what I was trying to do.
Woah.
Loren. Awesome. Not a lot of authors can pull off that kind of writing that is referential enough that folks can understand it, but strong enough as writing that readers don't need to know the references to appreciate the sense or meaning of it. Well done, sir. Terrifying and thought-provoking.
Glad you liked it, Nevets! I'm not sure whether or not I really pulled it off, but I'm glad folks seem to like it. To me, it seems to require some familiarity with the source material in order to work. Ah, well. It was fun to write.
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