THE THREAD | A Department Letter to Jesus of Nazareth
A DEPARTMENT LETTER TO JESUS OF NAZARETH
Dear Mr. of Nazareth:
We regret to inform you that your claim
I am the way
does not provide us with any useful metrics
or a clear definition of the way.
We simply cannot detect nor measure it,
though we have made several attempts.
We collected the tears, sweat, and spit-out wine
from a random sampling of wedding feasts
during our study of the way people celebrate,
but surprisingly, our jars did not contain
any evident traces of the way.
We spent hundreds of hours in observation
attempting to discern the direct correlation
between the way a man rests on his back in a field
with the sun shining warmth upon his face
and the way the same man back at home
beams a smile toward his children,
but we could not quantify any of it.
We recorded and studied the frequencies
of the way individual humans
speak key words and phrases to one another
such as hold me and I need you
and come closer and stay here with me
and I am here and everything will be okay
but it’s as if each individual voice
is somehow incalculable in this regard.
Other failed experiments include:
The way her head rests its full weight
in the gentle palm of his hand;
The way the boy’s bare feet clinch
to pull the clover up between his toes;
The way the man opens his eyes
to behold his daughters and mumbles Ah-lub-yoo
sixty-three seconds before he dies;
and many other undocumented
small gestures such as these.
We recommend that you revise the way
to be defined strictly as a linear path
with a clear destination, milestones, set backs, et cetera,
rather than these oddities, these flukes,
these mere wisps of presence.
Our advancement, our efficacy, our growth,
so much depends upon
a more measurable directionality,
and we appreciate your cooperation.
Signed,
The Department
~ ~ ~
What I'm watching: Peter Jackson's documentary The Beatles: Get Back (Really, I could talk all day about this because it's incredible; Feel free to email me your thoughts about this film forever.)
What I'm reading: Abraham Joshua Heschel's God in Search of Man, Luis Alberto Urrea's Into the Beautiful North
What I'm listening to: George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, The Beatles' Let It Be, My Little Pony movie soundtrack
~ ~ ~
Dig a pony,
Andrew