The Minor Prophets

Is he a minor or major prophet?
Would we pay attention anyway?

None of the minor prophets

knew that he was minor, of course. Habakkuk, I imagine,

   thought that his visions earned him

standing as Ezekiel’s peer, if not indeed Elijah’s.

   Then there was Obadiah,

who could be forgiven if he thought he might be a Moses.

   How they would be remembered

Providence concealed from them all, though they could see the future.

   Maybe it doesn’t matter.

If you’re on a mission from God, sent to rebuke a city

   or to redeem a nation,

where by cannon-makers you’re ranked may be inconsequential.

   Nor is the voice within you

any less authentic for not having a distant echo.

   Seers of the world, be heartened.

Even minor prophets can have genuine revelations.

Source:Parallel Lives, Michael Lind. Wilkes-Barre, PA: Etruscan Press, 2007 – found on the Education for Justice website.