Poem: Joshua Brought The Jericho Walls Tumbling Down

By Jack Brummet 

Jericho was locked down tighter than a submarine.

It made Helms Deep and Fort Knox look porous.

Joshua studied the walls, trying to find a way in,

When a man with whirling gaslight eyes appeared.

"Hey you! Spook! Are you for us, or against us?"

The spook whirled around, rattled his sword

And grew ten feet tall and five feet wide.

"I am the General of all Generals."

It was The Lamplighter himself. "Take the shoes

From your feet on my holy ground,

And follow the ark, with seven priests with seven trumpets.”

Joshua told the peasants, "All right, beat feet!”

Seven priests tooting seven horns led the parade

Around and around and around Jericho

Like Sambo marched the tigers around the tree,

Or the way the earth spins in the dark around the sun.

They marched in silence six long days.

On the seventh day they lit out at dawn

And marched around the city seven times.

After the seventh orbit, the priests blew a cadenza

And Joshua said to the people, "Shout"

They roared louder with each passing minute,

And the walls came tumbling down.

They destroyed everything with a heartbeat:

Every man, woman, animal and bug,

Young, old, red, yellow, black and white,

Fell on the sword.

Joshua was the Lord’s boy now.

He became famous throughout the country

And put the hairy eyeball on anyone

Who even thought about resurrecting Jericho.

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