What was the first job you were given
By Joseph in the carpenter's shop
Were you set to sweeping floors
Cleaning hidden corners with a broom,
To remove the shavings
Of the wood your father's lathe
Had pared?
Did you at one time
Get sawdust in your eyes
And know pain and discomfort
The inability to see
So that later you would teach
That those with planks in their eyes
Should not criticise those with mere specks?
Did you ever make a manger out of wood
To hold the animals' food
Recalling that Mary had laid you in one
Within the stable adjacent to the fully occupied inn,
So that we would know that humble vessels
Can be used for divine purposes
Even containing the incarnate Son of God.
Did you hang the sign outside the shop
Advertising yokes made here are easy-
Well-fitted to the individual animal
For whom it had painstakingly been made
Knowing that one day
You would invite people to come to you
For their tailor-made yoke
Which would make their burden seem light?
Was there ever a moment
When you held nails and wood,
In calloused carpenter's hands
In the knowledge that some day,
One would fix you to the other
And with these instruments
the wholly innocent
Would suffer death
For the sins of all mankind?
Just wondering....
Anne Linington
copyright September 2008
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Anne ~
Have been reviewing comments/critiques on my pieces. You have given me SO many good, solid ideas and helps - just wanted to let you know you ARE appreciated!
Anne,
You have a lovely way with words, tender in your thought process and selection of words that convey deep emotions. I always appreciate your poetry and enjoy the way it makes me think. Keep it coming, sister!
Lesley-Anne
