“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ”
- from The Good News according to Mark
The poem you are about to read was inspired by the story told
in the book of Mark, Chapter Six...
"The wind was against them." ~ Source
“When Jesus went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ” - Mark 6:34
Genessaret, Across the Sea at Dawn ~ Source
~COVID-A.D.-33, Galilee~
by Duncan Cary Palmer
The thunderstorm that rocked the sea
Had ended before dawn.
They said it had been quite a stormy year.
That fishing boat had anchored
Near Gennesaret before;
Locals recognized the crew
Before they put down oar.
Word got swiftly 'round;
"Jesus is in town!"
"If only I could touch him
I'd be well again..."
Fetch your ailing mother,
Sickly Jacob, too.
Doesn't little Nathan have the plague?
Bring 'em on a stretcher,
Or on anything you've found.
What path is Jesus taking?
Just lay 'em on the ground.
Jesus, won't you touch her?
She can't take this any longer.
I'm begging you, please help us!
I wish my faith were stronger.
If I could just get closer,
I would touch his overcoat...
Some say he's just an artisan—
But I think not.
As Jesus made his way around
The suburbs, farms, and towns,
Whoever got in touch with him
Was healed.
~FIN~
"Peace! Be still!" ~ Source
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You are why I'm here on Hive!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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I like it, Creatr, because it's not didactic but emotionally real. To me that's the essence of poetry, even cerebral poets like TSEliot who like to think as much as they feel, they all know it eventually comes down to touching the reader the way the narrator in your poem is reaching out to grab hold of Jesus. Sure style and diction and all the other tools in our writer's toolbox matter (Eliot: I gotta use words when I talk to you) but ultimately it's that moment when something grabs us and arrests us and draws us by a kind of inward music. If we could all just get closer...yeah, I like it - it touched me.
Thanks, John... thanks.
Okay...okay, still making dumb technical errors - I deleted the repetition, lol - I didn't think it posted so I did it again...sigh
LOL...!!!
I've noticed that comment posting seems to lag, compared to what I remember during the "good ol' days." I don't know if it's a consequence of a rapidly growing blockchain, or technical changes, or what... but it is disconcerting at times. :O
And, yes, I noticed, but thought nothing of it! :D
Interesting to know you've retired, How's that 'working' for you?! Yeah, I know...childish.
Actually, I met a teacher the other day who asked me to speak to her grade six class and I got excited. You can only stay retired for so long, hence, my writing--well, not that I haven't written my whole life, but not just as my primary avocation.
I take it you're sufficiently comfortable in your finances to escape the commercial formula of making a living that passes for a purposeful life in our culture. Try being Albert Doolittle and see if you still feel relevant. I'm thinking here of William Barr who came out of retirement to be Trump's rubber stamp. Yeah, no one sings odes to dead Justices when they're gone but prostituting yourself for the sake of still trying to be relevant? I guess what I'm saying is I hate the concept of retirement. The way I see it, don't stop doing what you have always done unless of course you absolutely hate it. It would be like giving up surfing because you turned a certain age. Why would you do that unless you could no longer do it, and then that would be tragic. Yeah, Time that subtle thief of youth doesn't steal as much as people surrender. I wish your 'retirement' to be a productive employment, my friend, still vibrant and relative. I recall one speech I gave on a colleague's retirement when I quoted Old King lear who divested himself of cares of state so he could crawl unburdened toward death. Yeah, that was the hit of the party...uh, maybe not, but we needed some balance there and I provided it. Ha ha, I hope you continue to invent and if you consult remember the perils of good ole Willie Barr who just had good intentions, lol
Thank you for the pep talk, Mom... ( LOL ;)
Looking back at my too brief announcement...
... perhaps I could have been clearer. I expect never to "retire" in the all too common sense of "golfer/couch potato." To be sure, I shall surf and rest and vacation, but I never expect to stop pursuing my calling(s) from the Lord... :)
Thank you very much in particular for those good wishes. That is my hope, to be sure.
Among my fond imaginations are designing and building a house and/or a vacation house well suited to my wife's needs, continuing my Greek studies, continuing my writing, and building prototypes of assorted inventions that I've not as yet had time to experiment with.
And of greatest importance in my thinking, I hope particularly to write about my vision for encouraging the church to promote the Good News of the Kingdom of God...
John, it's so good to hear your thoughts. Thanks for your encouragement!
You're very welcome, my friend - I should have known you'd still surf and invent - the only thing I cut back on was jogging on pavement (Abbey, my dog. cut in front of me and I did a face plant on the road) Yeah, now I confine that exercise to grass and dirt paths. Anyway, it's nicer to run through the chilly woods with dogs, lol