“Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” – Genesis 21:10

O God who values children, how could You
applaud this hideous, this (dare I say it)
visibly unholy plan to send a mother and
a child out to die near Beer Sheba,
and of all places, this the Well
of Seven, this the Well of Oaths.

What of the oath a parent makes to child
when he is born? What of the oath a mistress
lays upon herself when making one a slave?
What of the oath a man should owe
to one with whom he has conceived a child?
What of the oaths pure decency demands?

Instead an oath to Sarah’s son is paramount.
Instead You credit Sarah’s oath to see her son
to elevation. Instead You make another oath
to make another nation from another child.
Could not You value these two lives
for Ishmael’s life, for Hagar’s life itself?

I’d like to judge You, God, but I cannot.
I’ve wondered if, like Hagar, I could bear
to see my child’s life come to its end.
I’ve tried to comfort those whose children
died and known that mine had not.
If anyone can judge You, it is they.

In humble, grateful, timid words
I offer you a whispered thanks,
for when the harshest wilderness
was all I saw and knew, I found
beyond all hope and bitter fear,
You’d dug a well of water.

A poem/prayer based on Genesis 21:8-21, the Revised Common Lectionary First Reading for Year A, Proper 7 (12).

The image is Hagar and Ishmael by George Hitchcock – Hindman Auctions, Chicago, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90805891.