Aaron the priest raised his
arms to bless us, he said,
in our searching.
We stirred uneasily
and turned back to the fire.
The calf glowed more brightly
the faster we whirled. My
heart was joyful.
And then Moses was there.
His eyes blazed with anger.
His voice shook the black rocks.
As he faced us the dawn
began to grow
behind him. We watched the
calf lose its luster in
the cold morning light and
then we turned once again
to the mountain.
-from No Leader, No God
Loretta Miles Tollefson earned her Bachelors Degree in Biblical Education from Multnomah Bible College and Seminary and a Masters Degree in Communication from the University of New Mexico. She has published a number of short stories and poems and lives in Tome, New Mexico with her husband and two sons.