IN THE PEW READING MERTON WHILE BELL RINGERS PRACTICE RINGING

 

IN THE PEW, READING MERTON

WHILE BELL RINGERS PRACTICE RINGING

BEFORE WORSHIP, THE SMART PHONE

IN MY POCKET CALLS ME,

And when the phone call comes,

my friend has been pulled over by police

without a license. Would I come

and get him? He’s close. It’s Palm Sunday.

Jesus on a donkey.

And when the grace is gone

we no longer seem to reflect on it.

His car is in the church parking lot now.

He’s walking. And my car is on the curb

where he was stopped. This is what

I know of what’s real and what’s not.

He sits beside me in the pew

and I hand him back his keys.

I thought I had resolved the problem.

I guess not. I do not know who is

speaking these words. Him or me.

For any problem you got. Here we go.

Two choirs surround me singing.

Two choirs singing and ringing.

Jim Bodeen

Palm Sunday, 2026