Nineveh I saw it with my worried eyes, The spirit that materialized, As if it dropped down from the skies, And when it spoke, I realized, This was an angel from on high, Sent to bring me words of woe, Commanding me to not defy, But off to Nineveh to go. The Lord, he said, was moved to pity, Wanted them to make amends, Lest He destroy their sinful city. On you, he said, their life depends. I knew about those Ninevites, A city rife with many sins, From valleys low up to the heights. I would not go and save their skins. The angel left ... I made a plan, To go alright, the other way, Lest by my intervening hand, Those sinners should be saved that day. I hopped aboard a vessel fine, With me and all, put out to sea. At first I did not see the sign; The wrathful clouds which followed me. A mighty storm bore on our ship, Winds and waves tossed us about. Between the crests our boat did dip, The sailors gave a fearful shout, "We'll drown and die, in mortal fear, Beneath the waters dark and deep, Nevermore our loved ones dear, Will see us but in dreaming sleep." Then I saw what happened here; The wrath of God had followed me. Fearing that our death was near, I told the truth of what must be. They threw me off the ship, they did, Into the roiling sea below, When they had learned from whom I hid; I thought it was my time to go. I knew that soon I would be dead, As down I drifted into dark. Had I listened and not fled, I'd not now be food for a shark. Through the darkness I could see, Some strange and mighty beast appear. Its massive jaws closed over me. I knew the ultimate in fear. Incredibly, 'twas dry inside, Whatever thing had swallowed me. Terrified, to God I cried, "Make it spit me out to sea." Nothing happened for some time, It could have been two or three days. I begged forgiveness for my crime, Of thwarting God's merciful ways. Then suddenly, as if it knew, The beast spit me onto the shore. Where I was, I had no clue, But grateful was I to my core. I walked along the sunlit sand, Wondering how I could get home, From this unfamiliar land, And write it all in a glad tome. Then I came across a man, Who seemed to know his way around. I asked the name of this odd land, "Nineveh" he said, and frowned. "What business have you in this place?" I shuddered once, then said to him, "I've come to tell you of God's grace. His wrath is hot ... he's at the rim, Of judging you and all who live, In Nineveh, city of sin." He bade me come with him and give, This message to his kith and kin. I spoke before the king and throng, Advising them they must repent, Or else it would not be too long, Until their land and lives were rent. Upon their knees they fell in sorrow, Frightened, anguished, they did weep, Asking for one more tomorrow, Pleading God their lives to keep, The Lord on high then heard their prayer, Pleading for another chance, And He decided them to spare, To let them live, to sing and dance. I went my way when it was done. Because of me they did not die. They should be punished by the One, Who rules below and rules on high. Instead he let them live again, According to His holy will. I think he should have killed them then, So I am angry with Him still. copyright ©2011 Wayne Hepburn - All Rights Reserved Images from wikimedia commons. Photo of Nineveh is used under CCL and GNU licenses. Illustration by Dore is copyright free. Texts from the Hellenistic period and later offered an eponymous Ninus as the founder of Nineveh, although there is no historical basis for this. The historic Nineveh is mentioned about 1800 BC as a centre of worship of Ishtar, whose cult was responsible for the city's early importance. The goddess's statue was sent to Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt in the 14th century BC, by orders of the king of Mitanni. The Assyrian city of Nineveh became one of Mitanni's vassals for nearly a century until the mid 14th century BC, when the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit I reclaimed it in 1365 BC while overthrowing the Mittani Empire. [http://en.wikipedia.org/]