Jephthah's Daughter
I think of how you slept that final night Before he stole your joy, before the end. I saw you lie there as you always did, Your legs curled up, head nestling in the bend Of your right elbow. When the morning broke You sat beside the window, let the breeze Caress your curls—even the elements Were gentle to you all your life, it seemed— Until you saw him, then with dancing feet You ran to meet him, singing him back home. You merry, much-loved child! You loved so well For love was all that you had ever known. But his rash words soon killed your songs and laughter. (How brave, how bitter-free, you faced disaster.)
Ah, the story of Jephthah’s daughter. That’s a good one for preachers to get their teeth into, isn’t it? But for the purposes of this sonnet, it doesn’t matter what the rights and wrongs of Jephthah’s vow were or why he still gets a place in the biblical hall of fame or whether his daughter was in fact killed or merely (“merely”) doomed to never marry. What matters is that this was a real girl with real hopes and dreams whose life came crashing down around her as a result of someone else’s actions and who responded without fear and—more marvelously still—without resentment. To respond with grace and courage to the ways in which people have wronged us—oh, it’s a hard thing to do, but how beautiful. How like Jesus.