"I'm a pacifist,"
said Jacob,
when the angel showed up
in his Spandex and mask.
"I won't fight you."

Ignoring this,
the angel grabbed Jacob around the waist
and threw him to the ground.

Jacob went limp.
"I won't fight you," he repeated.
"What part of this don't you get?"

"But you're supposed to fight me,"
the angel said,
"to prove…um…something…"

"Like what?
Violence solves anything?
I'm stronger than God?
Real men are willing to fight?
Well, how about this:
real men have nothing to prove–
not to other people, not to angels,
not to God.
No one wins if someone loses."

The angel, in frustration,
punched him in the thigh.

Jacob winced.
"Thanks for proving my point,"
he said,
and found himself alone again,
with stars spanning the night sky
leaning like a ladder
against the rooftop of heaven.

Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. (See Genesis 28:10-17; 32:24-3.)