James D Rapp

Sandals: the Journey of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar James D Rapp 1. izdevums

In thirty-one provocative and evocative poems Jim Rapp traces the intertwined lives of the ancient Hebrew patriarch, Abraham, his half-sister wife, Sarah, and his concubine, Hagar. Using a combination of imaginary and Biblical scenes the poems trace a romance that begins with the birth of Sarai (Sarah) and ends with the death of Abraham. The poems take seriously the faith of Abram/Abraham as he follows the calling of Yahweh God into a land he is promised as the inheritance of his offspring but which he will never - with the exception of a burial plot - possess. Conflict informs the themes for many of the poems; conflict between Abram and Sarai as they wait for the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise of an inheritor-son; conflict between Sarai and Hagar as Hagar seems to move into the position of favored wife; conflict between Ishmael and Isaac as they are thrust into a competition with implications that continue to ripple though the Middle East today; conflict between Yahweh and all of the characters in the story as they attempt to navigate the tangled relationships recorded in the pages of Genesis. The story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, filled with the pathos of human frailty, illustrates the never ending struggle of all humanity to faithfully walk in the paths their feet are given to trod. Every reader is likely to see his or her own sandal-prints alongside those in the ancient sands of Canaan.