The Man Born Blind

 The Man Born Blind, John, Ch. 9

This week we prayed with the readings for Lent 4 Year A, and our Gospel was John 9:1-41. This poem was written some years ago on a Lent retreat. We share a poem from a parishioner attending the Gospel Share on a Thursday evening. Written from the perspective of the blind man

The man gave me sight.

All my life in darkness
not knowing through eyes
and now all this light.

What do I do?
What is this “seeing”?
All these moving shapes?
These things they call colour?
These revealed faces?

Why such anger with me?
What have I done?
Why was the man wrong
who did such healing?
I did not ask him to;
I only did what he told me.

He was the first
to be kind to a cursed
blind man,
all my days carrying
my sin of darkness.

I know he was a prophet
or something great.
How could anyone so good
be so full of sin
as these haters say?

Alone in my harsh
all seeing day,
I pray
he will come back
and love me.

Tim Hoare, Parishioner