Inside a Country Dialect

A human being is like the rod

Moses held or the words

that Jesus said.

The outer is just a piece of wood,

or mouth-sounds of a country dialect,

whose inner parts can divide

the green ocean and make the dead

sit up and smile.

You see the far-off tents

of an encampment. You go closer.

There is a dust-shape, someone walking near.

Inside that, a man, bright eyes

and the strength of his presence.

When Moses returns from the wilderness

where he has gone alone,

Mount Sinai begins to dance.