The poems in this post are part of a special section, curated by Ori Z Soltes and Robert Bettmann, The Jewish Experience.
Lot’s Wife
He never planned to take me with him,
never planned for me to follow. All that
talk of morals, values, only words to feed
his ego. How easily he pimped our daughters,
left the others to be murdered when he
knew what would be coming. Everyone
could see the smoke, hear the fires racing
towards us. He didn’t take the time to pack.
Grabbed our daughters for his pleasure,
then called out weakly–Time to follow.
Don’t look back. But I ran. I ran then stopped,
embarrassed by his cowardice, I turned. I saw.
I wept, wept until my body became salt.
Afterwards, he never spoke my name.
From Montclair, New Jersey, and a winner of the 2023 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Contest, Jessica de Koninck is the author of Cutting Room (Terrapin Books), and the chapbook Repairs (Finishing Line Press). Her poems have been featured on the Writer’s Almanac and Verse Daily and appear in Mom Egg Review, the Valparaiso Poetry Review, The Paterson Literary Review, Ritualwell, and in many other journals and sites. She holds an M.F.A. from Stonecoast, the University of Southern Maine, a B.A. from Brandeis University and J.D. from Boston University. Jessica co-edits ALTE, a multi-platform publication. For more go to: www.jessicadekoninck.com.
Featured image in this post: Jordan 2021 P299 Lots wife, Fallaner, creative commons via wikimedia commons.
