Zechariah's Answer

Zechariah asked, “Whereby shall I know this?”
The angel rebuked him for believing not.

Zechariah was certainly not alone in questioning.
Hebrews lists faithful folk who lapse:
Sarah who laughed, Moses who fled,
Barak who feared, David who murdered.

And so we come to Zechariah who asked
For a sign. And he was answered:
The organ of his asking dried up.
A sign immediate, unmistakable.

Zechariah, who had been resigned to live out
The rest of his life, suddenly faced with
A new life.

How overwhelming, to welcome a son in his twilight years
Like Abraham.

I’ve always assumed the silence was retributive,
Just recompense for asking a stupid question of an angel.
But I don’t think it was, or at least not only.
There is gentleness here.

Zechariah left his angelic meeting
With a promise of a son, a sign to prove it,

And a silence to ponder.