Bethany

No, I don’t understand
why she did it
Not really.
But it was right,
so very right.
I don’t know how she knew
it would be.
But that was her all over.
Nothing like me.
I’m the practical one.
I was the one
who planned and prepared
the meal.
It was to be in His honour.
He was such a good friend.
It should have been
such a joyful occasion.
We were all looking forward to it
so much,
to seeing Him again;
to talking with Him;
to listening to Him,
just to being in His company.
You knew when He entered
a room.
There was an air of peace
about Him.
And I needed that.
I was always bustling around,
busy doing something,
anything.
But He gave me
a calmness inside.

Well, that day
I was bustling around
as usual,
making sure everything went smoothly.
And He was there
with His disciples.
But there was something about Him
that was strange.
Something intangible, indefinable.
Yes, we were all enjoying ourselves
but there was something.
Sadness maybe, or foreboding…..
just fleetingly.
I suppose it could have been the rumour
that the authorities were plotting
against Him.
Whatever it was I felt it
and if I did then Mary must have.
Anyway she went and brought
the jar of perfume.
It had always been in her room.
We had never had occasion
to use it before.
It was so expensive.
But I had often wondered
what occasion would merit its use.
And now I couldn’t think
what she intended
to do with it.

What she did was
so lovely,
so moving.
She poured it out over His feet.
Not just a few drops
but all of it.

It had to be all of it
She couldn’t have kept any back,
not from Him,
the one who had given us
everything.
The fragrance was
so overpowering,
so overwhelming.
It was almost too much to bear.
It was as if someone had died.

Some people objected.
I heard them murmuring.
But they just didn’t understand,
I didn’t understand,
not really.
But it was the right thing to do.
So very right.



© Kathleen Wilks