The Cost of Completion

The Price of the Seventh Step

The walls had stood
long before we arrived

unbothered by time
untouched by effort
unmoved by intent

they knew nothing
of surrender

only standing

And somewhere else—
a man carried a sentence
in his skin

Naaman
clothed in authority
but marked
by what would not leave

he was told—
wash

not once
but seven

in waters
beneath his dignity

We were told—
walk

not once
but again
and again

around a city
that did not care
that we had arrived

Jericho
shut tight
confident
certain

Dip one—
nothing

Step one—
nothing

Dip two—
still there

Step two—
still standing

By the third
the question forms

By the fourth
it speaks

By the fifth
it grows bold

this is foolish

this is empty

this is not how
things change

Six dips
bear witness

six days
testify

nothing yields
this way

but obedience
does not measure
effectiveness

it measures
completion

the seventh
is not special
because it is different

it is special
because it is finished

he went under
as a leper

and broke the surface
whole

we walked
as witnesses
to something that would not fall

and shouted
as those
who had already been heard

and what had never yielded
did

not to strength
not to reason
not to force

but to fullness

some things
will resist you
for six

they will argue
with your effort
mock your repetition
stand taller
in your persistence

but they are not waiting
for a better method

they are waiting
for the moment
you refuse
to stop

one step
too soon

© Ron Simpson Jr.