Two Poems (from the Collection - Pictures of the Messiah)

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The Edge of His Cloak

(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43; Luke 8.40-56)

Blood flows
and weakness ensues.
The strength to face my days lessens.
There is little
compassion
for the sick
if hemorrhaging scars the ailment.

This flow
makes my flesh unclean
and all who touch me
are impure for the allotted days.
As I near the moving crowd
those who know of my condition move away,
afraid that I might brush against them
and stain them.

I have heard rumors about You.
You are my final hope.
My offerings have gone unanswered.
My prayers have been unheard.

I struggle to reach You,
using all my strength to close the distance.
I want to simply touch
the hem of your garment.
I know You can make me well.

“Who touched me?”

Your voice frightens and sooths.
I have overstepped my boundaries.
I am a woman
plagued with a menstrual curse
and You are a man.

I have defiled You.

Please Lord forgive me,
for being so bold as to reach out
with my soiled hands,
with fingers tainted by my own blood.

I tremble at Your feet,
under Your gaze,
knowing I am healed
and no longer dirty.




Only Sleeping

(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43; Luke 8.40-56)

Anguish tears through my soul.
The sickness has not left her body.
She is frail,
this child of mine.
I hold tight to a rumored, final hope
that the teacher I’ve heard mentioned
can heal the world my soul is immersed in.

I cannot lose her.
Her shallow breathing causes my heart to ache.
Despair ravages my soul
and makes me cry out to God,
asking for His forgiveness.

You follow me,
back to my home,
where my daughter lies dying.
I have pleaded and You have taken pity.

You kneel beside her mat.
I witness no rising of her chest.
I sob,
I am a parent who has lost a child.
The greatest possible pain of life
engulfs my being.

Arise little girl.
Words foreign to the ache in my heart
fill the room
and eyelids flutter before opening
to gaze upon the one who gives life.
She was only sleeping
and the teacher woke her from its depths.




copyright 2016 - Donald P James Jr

From the Collection 'Pictures of the Messiah'
Available on Amazon.com





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