I have a well loved book of poems and reflections by John Shea. Its binding glue has failed, its pages often slip out. It is the “Velveteen Rabbit” on my bookcase. I remember meeting Mr. Shea, tattered book in hand, to be graced with his autograph. And the smile on his face as he saw his book in my hand, wrinkles, loose pages, and all.
I would like to share with you another of the gems it contains …..
A Prayer To The Master of Shock
When you told the seventy-two to travel without bread and coin, was it to boggle the mind of the rich and buckle the heart of the fat?
For you were the master of shock, dancing out of the desert of fast with the message in your mouth that the earth had not yet cooled.
Then you said the far-flung God was as close as the widow without justice and the stranger without a roof.
And you rose up, like an open hand in a time of war, hanging stories like axes in the air
about a son of shame who returns to fanfare while a son of duty stays without party,
about a worker who bears the heat of the day while an afternoon stroller is the first payed,
about a son who says yes and means no,while another says no and means yes,
about a priest who passes by the other side while a terrorist wraps wounds,
about a poor man who dines with Abraham while a rich man cannot find water,
about a good man whose prayer is swallowed in air while a sinner has the ear of God.
And when the cripple at the Sheep Pool of the Five Porticos told you the water only heals when the angel troubles it,
you turned on him like a knife, “I am the water that troubles.”
The book is out of print, although some copies can be found on ebay and other sites. John Shea’s website is http://www.jackshea.org