Forgiveness
The classroom is lulled for once
as eyes bloom at my story.
The roof was mud and straw
so it would have hurt their hands.
They lowered the man down slowly
and there Jesus stood, waiting to forgive him,
the deliberate drone of my voice stumbling
on that final, unreal demand of
‘Take up your mat and walk’.
Here is some paper, now you tell
what happened. I want to know
about forgiveness, what it means.
As heads bend down to their scribbling
there’s a silence I’m not sure I trust,
perhaps like the paralytic that day,
dazed and stiff in his happiness,
unsure of the faith shown in him.
After I’ve sent them home
I realise the hardest journey
is living with healing inside you,
but I still believe he ran all of it,
punching the air.
Page(s) 39
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