Five Parables Stephen Mitchell BRIEF THEODICY Of all human comestibles, the lemon is most nearly 1 allied to the sun. Therefore we can deduce that the god of lemons is bright, slow-moving, and thorough. He delights in the primary, the elliptical. He is not overly concerned with sweetness. Thus, lemon juice is the traditional cure for scurvy and optimism. JONAH After the ?rst few hours he came to feel quite at ease inside the belly of the whale. He found himself a dry, mildly ?uorescent corner near one of the ribs, and settled down there on some huge organ (it was springy as a waterbed). Everything?the warmth, the darkness, the odor of the sea?stirred in him memories of an earlier comfort. His mother?s womb? Or was it even before that, at the beginning of the circle which death 'would, perhaps soon, complete? He had known of God?s mercy, but he had never suspected God?s sense of humor. With nothing to do now until the next install- ment, he leaned back against the rib and let his mind rock back and forth. And often, for hours on end, during which he would lose track of Nineveh and Tarshish, his mission, his plight, himself, resonating through the vault: the strange, gurgling, long-breathed-out, beautiful song. LEFT HAND He is the awkward one, the fool, the younger brother. Can?t manage sword or scissors. Bungles it when he tries to use a pen. He is good only for joint projects Stephen Mitchell '5 hook: include The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (Random House, 1982), Ril/ee?s The Sonnets to Orpheus (Simon and Schuyler, 1985), The Book of Job (North Point, 1987), and the Tao Te Ching (Harper 5? Row, 1988). The parable: printed here are selected from Parables and Portraits, to he published by Harper 5' Row in 1990. with his accomplished partner, and menial tasks, like lifting a cup or opening a book. But he doesn?t mind. He accepts his limitations, sees nothing sinister in the fact that grace is reserved for someone else. Perhaps that is why he has been chosen to wear the golden circle, promise of all ful?llment: the marriage ring. THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE The camel catches his breath, wipes the sweat from his brow. It was a tight squeeze, but he made it. Lying back on the unbelievably lush grass, he remem- bers: all those years (how excruciating they were!) of fasting and one-pointed concentration, until fi- nally he was thin enough: thaumaturgically thin, thread- thin, almost unrecognizable in his camelness: until the moment in front of the unblinking eye, when he put his front hooves together. Took one long last breath. Aimed. Dived. The exception may prove the rule, but what proves the exception? ?It is not that such things are possible," the camel thinks, smiling. ?But such things are possible for me.? KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ?Ooh, make it a sad story,? the children said. ?Make it a sad, sad story.? They were sitting on the fence in the late February sunlight. They had all been changed into birds. ?Once there was a needle,? I began, ?and every time it pierced the lips cried the children, ?we know about that kind of sorrow. Tell us about the other.? I must admit that I was reluctant to continue. The sunlight in the yard was so poignant after a day of rain. I could hear their little claws skittering along the fence. ?All right,? I said. ?Once there was a needle, and every time it pierced the eyes Cl 31