The Intercessor

I have been in the House of Yahweh.

There I pummeled heaven

with the iron blows

of my prayers—

the raging two-fisted madness of Jacob.

There I seized my soul-fever with bare hands

and hurled it back blazing

upon the lap of Consuming Fire.

I have been in the Temple of the God of Hosts.

There I howled my primal howl,

howling as a beast howls

until my cry scraped like brick against brick.

There I gathered the boiling rivers

of my spirit and spewed them

like a torrent

toward the Voice of Many Waters.

I have been in the Presence of the Most High.

There I pressed my body

against the weight of the whole earth,

lunging again and again

against its ancient, fallen orbit.

There I shook the Seraphim.

There I wrestled Leviathan.

There I shifted the destiny of the universe.

FREDERICK LEWIS ALLEN is a former pastor and college teacher. He lives with his wife and four small children in Salem, Oregon.