Analysis of Lunch with Barisat



Go ahead and cry to the gods you have chosen.
Let them save you when you are broken.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Cast from wood and bronze, stone and gold.

Does one worship idols today?
An ancient thing we take as play.
We’re more intelligent than that.
We know their origin, in fact.

What is an idol?
The description in the Bible?
It’s anything we love more than God.
All these things man hath caused.

When Abram was just a lad.
Idols and idols his dad had.
He made them out of wood and stone.
His craftsmanship well known.

Abram followed his father Terah to his temple.
Statues of deities did they resemble.
By childhood negligence,
The cast of Meramath was in his path.

He gave Meramath a little bump.
To the ground he was disjunct.
Off with his head,
Abram just knew he was dead.

Terah said, “That’s okay, son.
He wasn’t done.
I’ll just make another one.
Or maybe, the likeness of another one.”

“Hmm,” thought Abram,
That sounds odd.
To think that way of a god.
To create a likeness, and then it provides for us.”

Terah made five gods and gave them to Abram,
“Take them, take them Abram.
Sell them in the town,
Distribute them all around.”

What evil deed is this my fathers’ doing?
Is he not the god of these gods?
Should they not worship my father?
Why does he bother?

Who is God, Abram wondered,
Our creator he pondered.
A master over all the earth.
The one who gave us everything, our worth.

Terah asked Abram to fix his lunch,
Use all the shavings in that bunch.
Go to the field and slaughter a lamb,
Kindle the fire and start some yams.

Abram began gathering wood.
Under the pile, the god Barisat stood.
Abram had an idea,
Barisat’s power I’ll see of.

Terah spoke with respect too,
But Abram’s disregard grew.
He planned to spat and taunt.
To belittle everything with thought.

He started his fire,
And left Barisat in charge.
Watch the fire, don’t let it expire.
Blow and kindle it, I’ll be back in an hour.

When he returned,
Barisat burned.
He fell into the fire,
Barisat expired.

Terah returned for lunch,
Vegetables and such,
He was sure to thank Abram
For his lunch all able.

This lunch is best,
Better than usual.
With a few bites left,
Abram said, “Barisat was the chef.”

No wonder it’s so good,
Barisat made of wood.
Where is Barisat now?
Barisat has retired, he fell in the fire.

That’s okay son,
I’ll make another.
Tomorrow, he can cook my plate.
Again, it will be great.

What is wrong with my father,
Has he no honor
Wisdom, intelligence?
Can’t he see there is no relevance?

“Hmm,” said Abram,
“That seems odd.
To think that way of a god,
To create a likeness and think it provides for us.”

Father, is not the fire more worthy of honor?
In it Barisat expired, so is it not the sponsor?
But water, it overcometh the fire,
Is it not higher?

Barisat it came from a tree.
A mighty oak was he.
Was it not better?
At least while rooted, it had measure.

Hmm, water it comes from the earth.
But the sun, it warms its girth,
But the night it takes over the day,
None guide their own way.

Who is He whom hath crimsoned the heavens?
The stars, the sun and moon so pleasant.
My God reveal thyself to me!
I want to know, show me, I want to see.

Abram’s mother left for town.
Abram, now a little more proud.
To make a point.
These gods I’ll exploit.

His mother’s room,
Twelve gods, each month to assume.
I’ll rile them up.
I’ll taunt them, they will give up.

Hey all of you,
Are you really cut out for this work?
Just go back to being trees.
At least your shade did please.

Are any of you board?
Let’s go do our nails.
How about a little more glue?
Y’all stick together too.

What do y’all talk about when I’m gone?
Oh, it’s just idol chatter withdrawn.
Hey Barisat,
I thought you got fired! Ashes, expired.

I’m sycamore of these.
Would you answer me!
Let me see.
Make me believe in thee!

Who is He whom hath crimsoned the heavens?
The stars, the sun and moon all peasant.
My God reveal thyself to me!
I want to know, show me, I want to see!

I burned my father’s temple.
All those gods resembled.
My father ran in to save them.
The fire, it also consumed him.

Not shortly after,
Thunder asunder,
Great clouds in the sky.
A voice came to me, to me from on high.

Thou art seeking understanding.
Your God of gods, your creator?
I am He,
I came here for thee.

Your name now Abraham.
A covenant between Me and Thee.
I’ll teach you everything you have yearned.
Teach others what you will learn.

Times gone past, compare time now.
Surely, no one believes in wood, not now.
Maybe, it represents someone
They believe in, they’ve found.

What is an idol?
Do you have to bow down?
It’s anything you love more than God.
Time, dedication and devotion you give.

This could describe your TV.
Or your child’s Wii.
Does it have to give rewards physical.
Or simple pleasures mental?

Money and love and faith in things.
Earthly fame and pleasure they bring.
Direct your thoughts to heavenly plots.
Things you can keep, eternal lots.

Set time away each day.
Praise the one who made you.
Follow his way.
It’s just better for you this way.


Scheme aaxb ccxx Ddex ffgg ddhx xbii aaaa jeEk jjlm nxoo ppqq rrjx ssxx ttxx oxxo uuov rxjd xdxx sswo aoxx oohh jeEk oooo yyoo qqcc Z1 Yy lxxx 2 2 3 3 tx4 4 xxtt 5 5 bV 4 yyy z1 yy dxxx oo6 6 noYy jyux wwam dlex yxdd xn7 7 ctcc
Poetic Form Quatrain  (26%)
Metre 101011011110 111111110 1010101 11101101 11101001 11011111 01010011 11110001 11110 00100010 11011111 111111 1011101 10010111 11111101 11011 011011011110 1110011010 11100 01111011 1110101 101111 1111 0111111 11111 111 1110101 11001010101 1101 111 1111101 1010100110111 1111011101 111101 11001 0101101 11011111010 11101111 11110110 11110 1110110 10010110 01010101 0111110101 11011111 11010011 110101001 100100111 01011001 10010111 0111010 110111 111011 110011 111101 10101011 110110 01101 101011101 101011110110 1101 11 1101010 101 10111 10001 1111101 111110 1111 101100 10111 0111101 110111 1111 1111 1101110010 111 11010 0111111 011111 1111110 11110 100100 111111100 1101 111 1111101 1010100110111 1011010110110 011011111010 11011010 11110 111101 010111 11110 111101110 11011101 1011111 101111001 11111 111111010 010101110 1101111 1111111111 1010111 01101011 1101 1111 1101 1111101 1111 1111111 1111 111011111 1111101 111111 110111 111101 10101011 110101 111101111 111101001 11 1111101001 11011 11101 111 110101 111111010 010101110 1101111 1111111111 1111010 111010 11010111 010110011 11010 10010 11001 0111111111 1110010 11111010 111 11111 11110 010001101 11110111 1101111 1110111 1011010111 101011 101011 11110 111111 11011111 1010001011 1101111 1111 1111101100 1101010 10010101 10101011 011111001 11110101 110111 101111 1011 11101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 5,157
Words 1,153
Sentences 134
Stanzas 42
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 168
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 91
Words per stanza (avg) 23

About this poem

A ballad about Abraham as a child with his father Terah who made idols.

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Written on September 11, 2022

Submitted by grggfks on November 09, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

5:46 min read
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