Mount Sinai stands in stark array
Whose blackened crest appears
Where lightning strikes and thunders swell
In tandem with our fears
Its craggy heights speak of despair
Just as our human hearts
Are hardened by the lure of sin
Our innocence departs
Here issued forth the Lord's commands
Unchanging as the stone
Revealing sin upon each head
Through guilt they bear alone
Relentless is its steely gaze
No stone is left unturned
The eyes of justice seek to find
All refuse to be burned
Mount Sinai's lofty summit calls
All charges to be laid
No letter of the law ignored
No penalty unpaid
Alas, no soul can dare approach
Those black and darkened hills
The trumpet blast of judgement heard
Has crushed determined wills
Each scheme to reach the mountain's top
Has been to no avail
No mortal can ascend the heights
To try is but to fail
Mount Zion is Jerusalem
That city on a hill
Where brightness lights the eyes of those
Whose hearts with hope are filled
A festive air pervades the walls
And all who dwell within
Rejoice in Christ's redeeming grace
And vict'ry over sin
Angelic hosts are witness to
The great and blessed sight
The God of glory on His throne
The source of endless light
Their eyes alone shall not behold
The glories there revealed
But also those secure in Christ
Those by the Spirit sealed
His mercy drapes the hardened rock
And turns the heart to flesh
Forgiveness in this mountain flows
Exchanging guilt for rest
A peace one cannot comprehend
In any other place
But here upon the hills of God
While looking on His face
The law's demands don't echo here
Resounds the love of Christ
No cries for justice can be heard
But mercy, grace and life
This poem won first place for the
January 2025 poetry contest