June 27th, 2008
Joseph Bathanti
JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN
They bump into Him shopping in Bloomfield.
It’s how many years? He’s skin and bone.
The hair. The beard. Some kind of radical.
But still He shows respect, kisses each one,
inquires about their health, tells them to pray,
ask anything in His name and it’s theirs.
They laugh. He’s probably on drugs, they say.
His poor widowed mother. Thirty-three years
old, a grown man, and still can’t settle down.
The little bit He makes He gives away,
while poor Mary sits in one room downtown,
practically on welfare, day after day.
They don’t mention the thorns or bloody cross.
He’s not a bad kid, just a little lost.
–from Rattle #28, Winter 2007
Wonderful.
Fabulous imagery! Fabulous piece! I was pulled right in with Jesus meeting the “woman,” and how they met in Bloomfield–of all places. BRAVO, Joseph.
Nice poem, Joseph, and one that captures the radical spirit of Jesus – yes, if alive today, I can see him on 5th avenue outside the designer shops, hanging out with the hobos, begging alms for them. What would be the modern equivalent of crucifixion for him? Being tied up in a Gucci scarf (price $4000) etc. and put on a poster as being o so chic!