poem/prayer for April 27, 2014 (John 20:19-31)

they lie just
         under the bed,
   doubt bunnies
      waiting patiently
      for me to get
         dressed for
               faith,
    so they can
    cling to my
       pants and socks,
          traveling
          with me
   through each day,
      giggling as they
      stain my pristine
               piety;

on summer evenings,
         as i sit
         on the deck
   trying to center
      myself in
            you, they
         flit about
         in the shadows,
   their tails flickering
            skeptically
      as they seek to
            distract me
      from such
         moments,
                  until
   you gather them
   up in an old
            olive jar,
      so you can
          see your way
          to me,

where,
    holding my
      life-scarred hands
            in yours, and
   rubbing grace's gritty                
         balm over the
      world's sharp wounds,
you whisper,
   'my friend and my beloved!'

and
      continue
   to believe in
                me,
      despite
      everything
      you have
   seen.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman