in my Children’s Bible there were bright color pictures
of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Moses in robes and fire in his eyes
Jesus of course
outstretched arms and sunbeams and all
good-looking too
or Ted Neely was in “Jesus Christ Superstar”
my girlfriends later would have such a crush on him
and there was a picture of Satan and Christ
that would’ve been scary
except for how faded and dull Satan looked
the devil I thought should be fire engine red
considering how vivid the rest of it was
but most of all I remember the plagues
the Plagues of Egypt
the pictures I mean
and of those I recall the frogs and the locusts most clearly of all
or locusts and frogs
hard to decide which I liked best picture-wise
but having seen frogs aplenty already
locusts seemed more exotic somehow
so that was it
I was all in for locusts
four years old and proud that day of my first big decision
yet even at that tender age I surmised
a pro-locust stance is best kept under wraps
something I probably should’ve remembered
when some years later my girlfriends and I all got together
and went to see “Jesus Christ Superstar”
they walked away oohing and aahing about Ted Neely
and I said the guy who played Pilate was better
they looked at me
as if I’d said Satan ought to be redder
but I’ve gotten used to that look over time.