Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett

London Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom
The fear of the Lord will keep you
                                       will keep you shut up
The fear of the Lord will keep you shut up in your home at night
              for fear of the people of Sodom
(if I find even fifty righteous, even ten…)

The fear of the Lord who turns fleeting compassion to columns of salt
The fear of the Lord who beats belts into spatulas
                                       who never code switches
                                       who crosses continents with a curtain rod
The fear of the Lord and the silent shadow of English overlords
                                       inside this fear, inside this Lord
The fear of the Lord hardening like hot oil hardens dumplings
My grandmother as hot oil anointing her offspring
My grandfather as silent as a well-worn slipper
                                       who locks and opens doors      
                                       his children of smoke    choking and invisible
This knot of fear cordoning off whole neighbourhoods in this city
                                       with unseen thread                  
                                       my chest tightens every time
                                       the Eastbound train jolts closer.

This fear of the Lord will be passed down to your children
              and yea, even unto your children’s children, Amen.

KEITH JARRETT is a writer, educator and international slam champion. Since publishing his collection, Selah, his poetry, fiction and essays have been widely anthologised. He completed his PhD at Birkbeck, where he was awarded the Bloomsbury Studentship. Keith teaches at NYU London.