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Saturday 7 April 2012

a roman spy reminisces




Sent to shadow him
reporting daily
there were times I even
might have joined him -

not on the cross, of course
but there were times
his spirit called me
to leave the world.

To go with him.
Word or world?
A real dilemma.
 Instead

I hunkered down
in the equivalent
of today's small cottage -
as later on we all

in our small cultures -
writing my reports
(twice daily now)
waiting...

always waiting...
waiting for
his spirit to depart -
which finally it did.

And then I knew
for the first time
that, not the crowds,
it is the man

who so disturbs me.

.................................

I have posted this watercolour and ink drawing before, but not the poem.
A Happy Easter Everyone.

16 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you for both the drawing and the poem. And a Happy Easter to you and yours.

kaykuala said...

The strength and the awe of Jesus permeate the minds,of believers or otherwise. The spirit of Easter is well presented. Great verse Dave!

Hank

kitty2409 said...

Happy easter to you too :)
Great simple poem.. simply liked it.

Mary said...

I think many found something in Jesus that they did not expect to! Including the one thief who was crucified next to Him. Your art is stunning, Dave. I want to see more. Happy Easter to you!

Daydreamertoo said...

This is beautifully written. Whether you believe it all in the Biblical sense of it or not, there is no doubting that Jesus was so special, so different and left no doubt as to his faith in God.
Lovely artwork too Dave.

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Words, artwork excellent!

Happy Easter Dave.

Anna :o]

Janine Bollée said...

Happy...hardly happy:
little bits of anguish running wild..
Was this just a cunning plot to grab attention all those years ago?
Can we relax and believe?
This is my hardest time of the year. Forget the chocolate and the stupid bunnies.
The BBC's Darwinian series doesn't help, inspite of Alan Titchmarsh's pure poetry all day yesterday.
You summed up my feelings in a way that I could never do myself.

Carl said...

Beautiful painting Dave and a great poem from an unusual point of view. The Roman is ancient yet reminds us of our modern selves.

Brian Miller said...

beautiful man...i think he disturbed many...he was not what they thought...and i wonder if that relief turned cold in teh days after...

Anonymous said...

Wow! A wonderful poem, but what a great watercolor too! I did not know that you painted. You say pics but somehow I haven't seen them so much. It is really lovely.

You know I do a lot of silly art, but mine is so quick and mainly now done on the iPad (which makes it even more quick.) This is lovely and beautifully rendered.

Don't mean to discount the poem here! I am just amazed that you don't post more paintings! K. .

Anonymous said...

Wow! A wonderful poem, but what a great watercolor too! I did not know that you painted. You say pics but somehow I haven't seen them so much. It is really lovely.

You know I do a lot of silly art, but mine is so quick and mainly now done on the iPad (which makes it even more quick.) This is lovely and beautifully rendered.

Don't mean to discount the poem here! I am just amazed that you don't post more paintings! K. .

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

A haunted Roman mind.
Great feeling and idea.

Happy Easter Dave.

Ygraine said...

I have to say, disturbs me too - in spite of being a non-Christian.
A great tribute to your Sacred time, Dave.
Very well written!

Windsmoke. said...

Bonza poem and Happy Easter to you and your family. What i meant by yesterday's comment was i really didn't read any poetry until i started blogging a couple of years ago :-).

Dulcina said...

Word or world...? I also know this question, but both of them can go together, Dave; your poem and others about His Passion prove it.
Beautifully written, as usual, but this time the subject touched my soul in a especial way.
Nice watercolour. You painted Him in ochers & umbers, already dead, His head down; I painted Him blue, in tears, before expiring...
We can join Jesus in the world, using our words trying to make it better.
...not the crowds,
it is the man
who so disturbs me
.
Precious end, indeed.

I think the actual crisis is making people think about real values, not being trapped in consumerism and materialism.
Jesus said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, and not only bankers should hear that message, also the Church.
Happy Easter!
..............
About the "poet tree", I must tell you I wrote a poem entitled "The poet tree" I'll post some day.
You said, Your mention of a Poet tree has set cogs moving in the old grey matter. Maybe something will come of it, maybe not, hehehe.
After writing my poem, the group Blue Van released a song with that title in 2006 :
http://www.musictory.es/musica/Blue+Van%2C+The/The+Poet+Tree
It begins like this:
Peel the paper from the bones
A seed waits beneath the soil
The ink is pushing further up your spine...

Come on, do it, Dave.
:)

Dave King said...

To all

So many big thank yous due here, yet I don't have the time to reply to you all personally. Apologies for that, but family doings are the order of the day from now on.

Enjoy your day

and thanks once again.