Sean Rima: The Gospel Lesson.

 

The Gospel Lesson.

Some days, you’re the Baptist,
and you know exactly what to do,
even if it costs you your head, and

some days, you are Joseph,
not knowing what to do and
thinking, “What the fuck?!” and

some days, you’re the three wise
men, seeking truth beyond all
reason, as you trudge across the
cold, black desert, and

some days, you are Herod The
Great, slitting the throats of children
to preserve your golden throne, and

some days, you’re the innkeeper’s
wife, giving shelter to hobos, and

some days, you’re Mary of Magdala,
crippled by the weight of your sins
and hungry for redemption, and

some days, you are Antipas,
swapping heads for sex, and

some days, you are Caiaphas,
worried about your gig, and

some days, you’re a temple guard,
playing with your mended ear and
wondering who you are, and

some days, you are Judas,
selling your friends for cash, and

some days, you are Peter,
just covering your ass, and

some days, you are Thomas,
thinking everything is bullshit, and

some days, you’re the Blessed
Mother, watching your sweet baby
suffer and powerless to stop it, and

some days, you are Pilate, washing
the blood from your hands, and

some days, you’re a Centurion,
just doing your job, and

some days, you’re the crowd,
raising your fists for Barabbas
because it’s the cool thing to do,

and then some days, if you’re

lucky, if only for a moment, you

get to be Jesus on the cross,

filled with light and love,
transcending the world of
physical things and
rising from the

ashes of your
primitive self, as you
beg forgiveness for your

killers and all the people who
have wronged or hated you,
but most of us do not

stay there very long,
turning our backs on Golgotha,
then slipping back into the crowd
and staring at our feet while
a bleak thunder crackles
over the hill, and

the altar of ourselves
splits down the middle,

in a hard-driving rain,

cutting into your flesh like

rusty nails and leather.

 

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Copyright 2019 by Sean Rima.

“Poems” by Sean Rima to be released May 11 by Lulu Press.