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"The Visit"
2003 9" x 9" |
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Matthew 8:14-15 "When Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law..."
You knew when he left his boat and nets
"This is different" he said,
And then your mother fell ill.
And suddenly you felt so alone.
He turned to you
The Visit
that this was serious.
Fishing is what he knew,
what he was good at.
like the last time.
You smiled wryly
and tried to keep the recriminations
from your voice,
and the fear,
"What of the children?"
And he said something
about the flowers of the field
not spinning and the birds ...
as you inventoried your store of flour,
used a little less,
stretched the porridge a little farther.
He urged you to come see
for yourself
but you resisted.
Someone had to be practical,
had to keep the house.
There were mouths to feed.
A fever.
He came to your house.
You watched from the shadows
as he looked into her eyes
and touched her hand.
The fever left her.
She got up and began to serve him.
and you looked into his eyes:
the pain, the compassion, the sadness,
the mirth, the loneliness.
And you touched his hand.
S.Z. Richardson 2/03