Stacks of burlap in the basement seven bags high:
soybean, rice, corn seed; cases of canned peaches,
peas, carrots and green beans,
enough to feed Gideon’s army.
Young Gideon, we learned in Sunday School,
gathered a ragtag crew of three-hundred
Israelites on God’s instruction
to slay the mighty Mideonite army.
Mother grimaces: “Talk to your father,” she says.
At supper we eat boiled soybeans
with Ezekiel bread and butter.
The old man opines on the health benefits of soy
and its utility as a righteous food source:
"The meat of the field, did you know,
is a supernatural antioxidant blessed with protein,
vitamins and minerals?"
We are told that dried soybean, stored properly,
will retain its nutritional value long enough
to survive an apocalypse.
I am twelve-years-old in ’82
and the end of the world sounds like
a video-game ending where the protagonist
expires in a whirling puff of smoke only
to discover himself reborn into a dazzling,
unspoiled universe.
In father’s game, global war seizes planet earth
followed by a return of the angry,
Old Testament god hurling fire and brimstone
down upon an ungrateful creation.
“Do not fear,” the old man says, drawing us to him.
“God’s chosen will be spared his wrath
and rewarded with riches in heaven.”
Gideon was also chosen,
and for his subservience he was rewarded
as a hero of faith; seventy sons
were bestowed upon him
from the many women he took as wives.
Yet, Gideon petitioned divine intervention
before signing on to God's plan.
Three miracles he required as proof of his intent.
I required only one:
Dear Heavenly Father, hear my prayer.
Your holy scripture declares that to those
who ask it shall be given … I humbly ask
that you demonstrate the truth of your power
by turning these boiled soybeans into
a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Amen.
~ Thomas
**First published in Hole In The Head Review
