Backward Mutters

  • Had You Not Gone

    Had You Not Gone

    I am reposting this because today is Ascension Thursday, which is the fortieth day after Easter and is the day that Jesus’ ascension, recorded in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:1-14, is remembered. Had you not gone away, ascended on high, You would have remained and still be here; The tale…

  • Do You Want to Be Healed?

    Do You Want to Be Healed?

    This sonnet is based on John 5:1-17. For thirty-eight years I have been bound, lame In this body which failed, gave way, betrayed My dreams to nightmares, my illness a shame; My heart’s hope of wholeness, each year delayed. I lie on my mat ‘side Bethesda’s pool Where I wait…

  • The Water Who Thirsted

    The Water Who Thirsted

    based on John 4:1-26 and Psalm 1 Thirsty, the Water spoke to the woman Who had come to the well in the day’s heat, “Give me a drink,” though she, a Samaritan, Not caring whether he seemed indiscreet. “But you have nothing by which I may draw Water for you,…

  • Spring

    Spring

    The wind blows, and The trees wave their arms, Winking their leaves And smile, shimmering spring green. The wind whisps and roars With a thousand voices Hailing the bright, blithe sun Who slings earthward warmth and light. The clouds above roll And boil over and through And yellow clouds Catch…

  • With His Life’s Wage

    With His Life’s Wage

    The passages of John 6:1-14 and 21:1-14 mirror each other. In both instances a crowd is gathered, full of expectancy but hungry and weary. In one a meager meal of some fish and five barley loaves is more than enough in Jesus’ hands, and in the other, Jesus’ presence with…