on Monday,
i proclaimed you
a pest,
for constantly poking me in the soul
and saying:
'why aren't you . . .
'did you see . . .
'how come you didn't . . .?'

on Tuesday,
i said you were a
'fool'
to imagine anyone
would take up a cross
and follow you;

on Wednesday,
i called you a name
(i won't repeat here)
for letting a gentle saint
be murdered in his church;

on Thursday,
i lament you as
BrokenHeart,
as your weeping brothers
cradle your sobbing sisters
carrying them gently
into a shalom
not yet envisioned.

now
allow me to start over,
and simply say
you are

my Hope
my Comfort
my Guide
my Joy
my Savior

today,
yesterday,
and forever.

Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman