To Cross the Jordan

By Emma McCoy

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The covenant splits a river like the Red Sea.
Have I not commanded you? Do not be afraid;
go! Walk on dry ground and look upstream.

You were slaves in Egypt and I set you free.
I gave you land even as I was betrayed
but the covenant still splits a river like the Red Sea.

My Promised Land is what life should be.
You people of lament, a nation waylaid,
must go! Walk on dry ground and look upstream

for the courageous are rooted in me.
Your season of loss is over: my love is displayed
in a covenant that splits a river like the Red Sea.

You are a stiff-necked people. I have seen
you wait to cross the Jordan decade upon decade --
now go! Walk on dry ground and look upstream.

I have performed wonders you can’t conceive,
yet you are a people of doubt, a nation remade
through my covenant that splits a river like the Red Sea.
So go! Walk on dry ground and look upstream.

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Emma McCoy is a literature student at Point Loma Nazarene University, California. Much of her poetry explores biblical narratives through re-imagination, closed forms and a close look at the structures and imagery of the original stories. When she's not writing, she spends her time outdoors chasing the downhill -- either skiing or mountain-biking. 

Emma's poem the third movement of Genesis appeared in Foreshadow in January 2021.​