Wheat Stalk
Church doors always open,
Swung wide at late hours of the night.
A man in a brown trench coat,
Pockets hidden inside overflowing
With loaves of wheat and grains.
A woman, hoarding children away,
Playing during a slumber party,
Gawking in awe of the bearded man.
He wants help, shelter, feet washed by Christ.
The woman directs him to a shelter,
Too far to walk, but she needs to rid him,
Like a fungus infection on the sole of your foot.
She can’t give him money like a harlot,
Or a ride to the shelter like a charitable taxi service,
for the safety of herself and the children,
She can’t even give him deli meats and cheeses
To adorn his tall loaf of white bread tucked in the coat.
So he tracks sewage into the church,
And leaves just the same,
Christ could not heal him at his haven.
There is no saintly presence beneath the steeple.
All that man was good for was making children glare,
Wide eyed at the miraculous loaves of bread,
From a white young image of Christ,
And all wondered, “Where was the wine?”
How odd. It's an interesting situation, of course, there is always the tired picking on of Christians and how they're hypocritical--that they're supposed to be Godly in their approach to others but tend to be cold and judgemental, I feel its common knowledge. I think it was a good idea to address the woman's reasons why, primarily her children, which makes her more reasonable and tolerable for her she reacts, but I would have liked to see some shame in her reaction--some small moment that made her realize that how she was behaving was not in the Christian way. There seems to be no small turn in this, other than the man simply picks up and leaves. I do like the ending though. I myself was wonder, where was the wine? It's sad to portray the man as only being good enough to make children glare. I feel like the characters in the piece are very stagnant. Search deeper for some traits within them, perhaps portray them in direct interaction and the rest can come with it. I hope this made sense--I'm so tired I don't know what I am saying. Hope This Helps.
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