Jesus Paints Graffiti
I’m pretty sure Jesus is a morning person
that he wakes up in a good mood
He denies he ever spoke personally to George Bush
Maybe he spoke to Bob Dylan
Jesus wears a bathrobe and reads the obituaries
He has a long braid like Willie Nelson’s
He drinks his tea black
leaves the cap off the toothpaste
and never uses an ATM machine
He’s never won a poetry slam
or been published in the New Yorker
He runs full page ads in the New York Times
and blushes when he’s on the cover
of People Magazine: Sexiest Man Alive
Jesus painted graffiti on a strip mall Kmart in 1989
Next to a blue planet in bold black letters
he wrote: ON THE EIGHTH DAY WE PAVED IT
He left it unsigned
~ Colleen Redman
Post notes: You can read about how this poem came about HERE.
The photo is from an old Roanoke Times newspaper clipping that I scanned from my scrapbook, taken during the building of the Christiansburg Virginia KMart. The caption that accompanied it described the graffiti as "eco-vandalism."
Comments
I LOVE it, Colleen! Paved it is right! Michele will love this one!
Posted by: kenju | January 28, 2008 9:24 PM
as long as he suffered, died and rose again, he can be and do what ever he wishes, my place next to the Father is secure.
He is the Word, and the word of truth has set me free.
Preaching tonight from michele's
Yaya!
Posted by: david, 7000 feet up | January 28, 2008 9:57 PM
Hi Colleen
I really love this poem!
Just wonderful!
Margie
Posted by: margie | January 29, 2008 2:29 AM
fabulous, colleen! :)
Posted by: sky | January 29, 2008 3:09 AM
I love the way you imagine Jesus. Especially the part about the black tea and toothpaste.
Posted by: Poe | January 29, 2008 9:11 AM
may I copy this - so fine made me laugh and think..sk
Posted by: sandy kessler | January 29, 2008 9:27 AM
Yes, Sandy.
Posted by: colleen | January 29, 2008 9:52 AM
This is a wicked pissah poem!
Posted by: Tonz | January 29, 2008 10:44 AM
Oh Colleen I really liked this poem.
Posted by: Deana | January 29, 2008 11:32 AM
Excellent!! If I had a time machine I would travel back to 25AD and tickle Jesus to see if he would laugh. Have you ever noticed that you never see him laugh in the pictures?
Posted by: Nathan | January 29, 2008 11:46 AM
Oh, I soooooo love this poem...your idea of Jesus and mine is pretty similar! Nice down to earth sort of guy!!!!
Posted by: Sara | January 29, 2008 12:12 PM
i believe he was down to earth.... that's why people flocked to him....a gentle, humble soul.
i love the eco-graffiti! hmmm... gives me ideas! :)
Posted by: bluemountainmama | January 29, 2008 4:15 PM
those fellows who tagged it didn't have Jesus in mind, but they had the Spirit, for sure...
Posted by: shannon | January 29, 2008 8:21 PM
Love the poem. Somehow thinking of Jesus as a man like many other men makes him seem just more plausable.
Posted by: Coll | January 29, 2008 11:03 PM
Oh, I love this! So much more full of life than I was raised to believe. It must have been fun to write.
Posted by: deirdre | January 30, 2008 12:49 AM
Love it! Love it.
Posted by: wesleyjeanne | January 30, 2008 11:43 AM
Yes, I can see Him, sitting there at the kitchen table in His big thick bathrobe. And slippers.
Colleen, you are the only person I know who is brave enough to take a picture of the scale while weighing yourself. Remember a few years back, when they tried to market a scale that would SAY YOUR WEIGHT OUT LOUD when you stepped on it?
Oh, yeah, sure. Nobody bought it; it tanked.
Posted by: Marion | January 30, 2008 5:42 PM
For deep reasons I can't quite fathom, this poem really speaks to me... it makes me want to write about my own personal Jesus. I think my Jesus would ruffle feathers tho, and I can imagine a few people taking it personally rather than ideally. lol But I love the sentiment and the images you painted so cleanly and clearly.
~S
Posted by: Shephard | February 1, 2008 3:55 PM
So enjoyed reading the full development of this poem. I say Jesus doesn't own an iphone but he reads blogs. He really apprecitates his tech guy, whose last name is Angel. Who would he vote for in November? Bono.
Posted by: Sharry Teague | February 2, 2008 10:46 AM
Colleen, I'd like to share your poem with our Writers Group at the Franklin County Library, with proper attribution, of course.
Posted by: Marion | February 2, 2008 2:44 PM
Feel free, Marion.
Posted by: colleen | February 2, 2008 3:59 PM
Hi colleen ... thanks for dropping by from michele's ... nice poem. I love your blog ... I've bookmarked it and will be back.
Posted by: omykiss | February 3, 2008 10:48 PM
Much enjoyed. Especially the reading of the obituaries.
Rick
Posted by: Rick | February 8, 2008 3:35 PM
Love that.
Posted by: alex | February 9, 2008 8:45 AM
great! a very rich image of jesus.
Posted by: isabella mori (@moritherapy) | August 1, 2009 12:01 AM