Bathsheba Bathing On The Roof by Sue B. Walker
narrated by John C. Mannone
Hallelujah! My breath—that secret chord repeated “C,” then “B.” She was bathing on the roof. In faith, the sight like light madding the distant sky, denied clouds their sure hints of gray. And I, a baffled king sang Hallelujah. In the shrift of love, I eyed the Hittite’s wife. I sinned. She might have turned her back displeased, but I swear she smiled. It made a fool of me. Why else stand in open view? The flowers stood tall on stalks of green. And I have seen her breasts, her thighs, her slender arms. Bathsheba, Bathshua, my queen. You don’t really care for music, do you, but come my sonata, my wife, my Hallelujah!
Sue B. Walker is the Stokes Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama and the Poet Laureate of Alabama from 2003-1012. She is the publisher of Negative Capability Press and the journal’s editor.
Tags: Poetry, Sue B. Walker