The Nativity ofJohn the Baptist

Source: twoheartsdesign.com

JB: proto-hippie
way back
to the land

first-come local foodie
first-serving wild-crafted honey
and free-range locusts
hot stuff in non-sweatshop
ethically sourced dromedary apparel

he's a Huck Finn friend of rivers
he's a John Muir man of mountains
as thorough as Thoreau
in his wilderness meditations

forerunning, forethinking
forever pushing change
down to simple earth
from complex clouds
he's taken the pulse of the nation
and hears its heart murmur
his fire and brimstone don't miss a beat

he's big
gone viral
head of the hit parade
marching with blasting brass into the Jordan

Source: fotosearch.com
but now he's winding down
getting smaller
making room for brighter sun
JB: you must've seen him
if you haven't
take a look
before he's gone.

Greg Kennedy, SJ works as a spiritual director at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, Ontario. He is author of Reupholstered Psalms volumes I, II, and III; and Amazing Friendships between Animals and Saints (Novalis Press).

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5 Comments
  • Susanne Prue
    Posted at 07:42h, 23 June Reply

    Love it!! Will share with my sisters.
    Blessings And Happy Feast of JB.

  • Peter Bisson
    Posted at 09:21h, 23 June Reply

    Thank you very much Greg!

  • Connie Shaw
    Posted at 11:52h, 23 June Reply

    I think I saw JB watering the community gardens at Loyola House.
    Thanks for the perspective Greg.

  • Elizabeth Bryant
    Posted at 13:01h, 23 June Reply

    Cool. One of my very favourite saints. God Bless!

  • Jim Radde
    Posted at 14:42h, 23 June Reply

    All hail to a free-range poet.

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