I. Grounds


Pristine like Monticello, 
a desert oasis slopes
to a large saltwater pond.
Young women with carts 
pulled by donkeys 
plant flowering cacti, feed fish.

Inside the house sits the casket 
in which water turned to wine, 
the whip used to drive moneychangers
from the temple.

Over here, an airplane hanger houses the boat 
Peter and his brothers sailed on Galilee. 
Suspended in salted humidity,
it swings ever-so-slightly 
each time the air-locked doors open.


II. Gift Shop

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The following items are also available online:

“Mary’s Foot Basin”/Calvin Klein “Anointed” set; 
Martha’s recipe for herb bread in a handy prepackaged mix; 
Israeli desert sandals and 100% cotton white robes; 
pulsating license plate holder, “This Car Saw Jesus”; 
10-inch high replica of Jesus’ jail cell 
with a wax cast guard; carpenter’s tool kits;  
A Physicist’s Look at Walking on Water; 
pair of gold vials holding frankincense and myrrh;
small pieces of the cross (real wood laminate on a pressboard core).


III. Events


Long lines of people wait, baking,
for the tour guide in his white robes, 
shining chestnut hair, gleaming beard.

Fingerprinting glass cabinets
that hold His rope sash, stepping
on ground where they hope He stepped
hoping for a touch of the divine, 
a brush against His robe,
they come to stare, to picnic, 
to eat the concession’s 
“Feeding the Five Thousand” Fish Sandwich
or plain grape jelly on white bread, 
 “Protestant Communion.”

Onto the late afternoon hillside, 
under a cloud like a boat floating 
on the deep blue sky, 
strides another bearded docent
to reenact the Sermon on the Mount,
or ten Equity card carriers to render
the betrayal in Gethsemane.

Their mouths droop;
the audience sighs
in all the right places; at twilight,
they pack their plastic 
whips and goblets printed with “Holy Grail,” 
and climb into the family SUV— 
pockets empty, tummies full— 
all in all a satisfactory visit to Jesus.

Originally published: The Atlanta Review, 2006