by my own hand

when jesus sat down on the rock

by the well was it to rest, to think,

or to wait? who was there to sketch

the scene,  what time of day,

how high the sun that shadows cast

on hallowed ground read noon –

or none at all? when jesus sat down

on the rock, was it vertigo

that led him there by stroke

of heat or luck? or was it

prearranged, the artist’s easel

all set up, prepared for some

poor shepherd from the field,

to model en plein aire

for an imagined History?