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JOHN
Nowhere held as much meaning for him as this church. And never was it more significant than it was now, in its lonely reverence. He used to come more regularly, when his grandfather had also come more regularly; he could still easily recall the childhood pranks he’d pulled with the other churchgoing children – throwing…
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TURNSTILES
I man the turnstiles, and I’ve seen them come and go. Usually, they walk in slowly, and I have enough time after hearing the outer door open to put away my writing and stand at attention. Sometimes, they’re trying to move in, sometimes they’re trying to move out. Sometimes, they’re just trying to pay the…
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bread, thrones, names
So, the thing is, he was pretty hungry. He sat among stones in the same way he always would in the years to come: with his left leg swung underneath, his other knee aimed at the sky, his right elbow resting upon this, and his left hand planted in the dirt. His free hand would…
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YOU
Fill a bottle with water and dirt. Shake it. Watch it settle. My mind is that vessel. I am thrust daily into disequilibrium, and so are you. Our heads spinning globes, tossing waves within a torrent of thought. So. I try to find a place to sit and let the dirt settle in the water.…
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woman
Nobody acknowledges this, but I was there that day too. I watched the woman approach from the shimmering village in the distance, and I calculated the time it would take for the rabbi to reach me at the well from the other direction. Two lines, two realities converging on a single territory. Mine. Yes, I…
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pennies
Before I knew it, Peter had leapt headfirst into the water. With complete abandon and zero flotation devices, he literally threw himself into the sea. It brought back memories of that other time, and as I steered the boat back toward the shore, I began to laugh. I shouted out as I passed him floundering,…
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DECORATED IN SUNSHINE
1 Decorated in sunshine. It gets stifling after a while, doesn’t it? At first it’s easy to laugh and breathe in the light. You run and dance amongst blossoming petals. Your friends shout, and your lover shimmers. Remember? And then you start to sunburn. Someone goes to get some water. The heat is suffocating, as…
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centurion
The centurion could still feel the burning light from Gethsemane, and now a different kind of burning entered his awareness as he watched a looming darkness spread from Golgotha like scalding tar. He stood at the top of the hill, below the criminals. The black stain colored the highway and the city walls in the…
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surprises
Jesus crouched down next to Matthew. The dawn air was cool. They didn’t speak. Instead, they settled in shared presence. Jesus could see that Matthew had been awake for too long; he could sense the shadows of disquieting dreams. He thought back to yesterday’s confrontation. The authorities were fuming. The people were grumbling. Now, his…
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CHANG & ROSA
I could tell you about their hands. The foil didn’t stand a chance. Their fingers licked the edges of those squared, metal sheets of paper faster than flames in the night sky, nail polish cemented on and flickering like fireflies, and I watched because I couldn’t look away. They were magicians. I could tell you…