Once upon a time there was a God
Who so loved the world
That He gave his son; his only son.
And they took that son
And they hung him a cross
And that son died.
And they buried the son—
Sealed him up tight.
But God said, “Oh no you don’t!”
And he rolled back the rock
And unsealed his son
And his son came out,
Came out walking and breathing
And he was alive.
And he’s alive today
And he walks around
And he stalks around
Breathing life and life.
Every morning just before dawn
For thousands of years
Little grim people—
Preachers and bankers and
Storekeepers and students—
Sneak up to the grave and roll back the stone
To seal it up tight.
And every morning God roars,
“Oh no you don’t!”
And he flings back the stone.
And out walks Jesus all over again;
Out stalks the grinning, striding Jesus.
Tight-lipped little people hover all day
Around the tomb
And cover it with incense
And bow before it
And walk before it
And sigh before it
And pray to it
And sing to it
And weep to it
And lean on it.
And weep to it
And lean on it.
And no one notices
Or at least they pretend not to notice,
The living, breathing, walking, talking Jesus
Out on the edge calling
“Hey! Hey you!”
~ by Lois Cheney
