A5- PART W

A gospel in blank verse with rhymed parables
As they were sitting eating at their rest
the Lord appeared again to all Eleven.
It was quite clear that he was displeased
particularly since they’d been so slow
in giving credit to the ones who’d seen
him first – the women of the company.
Why did they not believe at once that he
had risen from the dead? They’d been forewarned.
He’d told them many times how it would be!
Yet these were men in whom he had to trust.
Peter announced that he’d fish overnight
and try his luck to make a decent catch.
Then James and John said they would come along
with Thomas, called ‘The Twin’ as extra crew.
Nathaniel and two others stepped aboard.
They fished all night, but, come the break of dawn
they’d not a single fish caught in their net.
Disconsolate, they headed straight for home.
A hundred yards or so from land they saw
a figure whom they did not recognise.
He hailed them from the shore. ‘Hi lads!’ he called.
You didn’t do so well last night, did you?’
‘A lot of trouble! Not a single bite!’
‘I tell you what, ’the stranger called, ‘Throw out
your net upon the starboard side. I’m sure
you’ll find there what you‘re looking for.’
With some reluctance that is what they did.
But by this time hadn’t memories been jogged?
Hadn’t something like this happened once before –
when some of them first met the man who’d changed
their lives forever? How could they forget?
Could this be their leader?… Their prophet-king?
The man whom Roman hands had crucified?
At this point, John, if John it was – perhaps
one of the un-named pair who’d joined the crew –
whispered to Peter ‘Look. It is the Lord’.
The boat was edging closer to the shore
as Peter, who’d been hard at work and stripped,
threw on some clothes and jumped into the sea.
He must be first. Was that not always so?
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