Air: Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion

2

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.  And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. – Zechariah 9:9-10

Rise up you Detroit daughters, shake skirts! shout!

Despite the tension in the streets, rejoice!

Your booty shaking leads to hooting shouts

From the sons of Motown, soprano shouts

From the Motor City’s aunts, “Rejoice,

But keep the noise down!” but no matter, shouts

From fishes in Lake Michigan, and shouts

For the end of the sedan’s dominion

And the cookie-cutter car’s dominion,

For the end of the fender bender, shout,

The end of Pax Cadillaca, the peace

Of the luxury car, replaced by peace

For His hip hunger to the north, rejoice!

For His swerve-turning to the right, rejoice!

For His jump-thumping to the left, rejoice!

For His low lumber to the south, rejoice!

Of the pipe smoked by Pontiac, the peace

Of the plain warriors no longer shouting

For Custer but wishing his daughters peace

And the grandsons of the pioneer peace

On their absconded land taken with shouts

Of manifest destiny from peaceful,

Rightful owners who now wish the thieves peace,

Who generously with these crooks rejoice,

Who with white, pitchfork-tongued farmers rejoice

Wishing their combines and harvesters peace

Despite the injustice made dominion,

Despite the automotive dominion,

All my people in South and North, Selah!

All my people in East and West Selah!

All my dancers in cement shoes, Selah!

All my dancers in streets of peace, Selah!

The from-car-to-shining-car dominion,

The automatic-versus-clutch-war’s peace.

Detroit daughters, claim your own dominion,

Over General Motors, dominion

That delivers to the union reps peace

That ends maquilladora dominion

And gives the auto worker dominion

Over the machine with a victor’s shout

And pay-raise. Oh, daughters of Detroit, shout

Yourselves a new fief, a new dominion

Over your own lives at last – oh, rejoice,

Daughters of the new Michigan, rejoice

For His swerve-turning to the right, rejoice!

For His jump-thumping to the left, rejoice!

For the first shall be last, rejoice!  Rejoice!

For the last shall be first, rejoice!  Rejoice!

For industrial blight beknighted.  Rejoice!

For ending streamlined dominion,

Low-riding design uplifted, rejoice!

For the new wheels-to-shining-wheels, rejoice!

Here it comes — souped-up, ridden in dominion,

For His swerve-turning to the right, rejoice!

For His jump-thumping to the left, rejoice!

For the signal of your low-rider peace

King parallel parking in perfect peace,

Spinning His custom hubcaps’ spokes, rejoice!

Oh daughters of Detroit, get in and shout

For the convertible converted, shout

Know that your king, El Rey Pacifico,

Of the low-riders comes in dominion

To pick you up for a slamming joyride,

Oh, daughters of motor city, so shout!

(Photo Credit: Jason Mrachina, Flickr)

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About the Contributor

Anne Babson

Anne Babson
Anne Babson's work has appeared in Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought, Christianity and Literature, Windhover, Dappled Things, The Penwood Review, and other journals of interest to Christians. She has organized literary readings, taught a writing workshop on writing poetry as a spiritual meditative practice and is currently teaching a course at a on how to write a Christian memoir. Her book, Poems Under Surveillance (2013), is published by Finishing Line Press and her first full-length collection, The White Trash Pantheon, will be published this year by Vox Press. 

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