Approaching Easter Poems

Here are a couple of poems I wrote last year around this time.

Martha Remembers Palm Sunday

I remember his journey into Jerusalem:
hot, arid, o so bright a day,
the first two layers of people in the crowd
drop palm leaves in his path,
the bright green shone over the red earth.

I ran my hands across the ground near me;
ground hard as rock,
and I wondered how this man, coming into town on a donkey,
could possibly have mud with this earth,
mud watery enough to sate the thirst of many,
and clear enough to let the people see.

But I do not
question. He saved
my brother.
And here I am,
for once taking time to pause!--
amidst the crowds,
about to exclaim
for joy
at his return.

O how bright this day is!
Here he comes now:
his face is set. He feels our joy,
but I see he has more coming.

I must return to my sister.

O Mary! Come out, I call,
even before I am in the house.
I thank her for cooking,
but say, we must go!
Now.

I know, she says.
And together
we disappear
into the crowd.

---
Jesus Departs for Galilee

On the day Jesus left Galilee, his parents lamented. His friends spoke no words, but looked at him appraisingly. They did not walk outside to see him off.

Only his mother walked with him to the gates of the city. She said, I know you must go.

Some driftwood had gathered by the water and, as her son departed, she stood by the slowly moving water. There were some boats, too, but she did not depart in one of them.

Instead, her feet felt the rocky ground, her eyes the clear water, her fingers the wind cutting through. She drifted home, remembering the angel before her son was conceived.

Tonight her meal at home would be her consolation.