Luke 18.25
by Karsten Piper

He spread his blanket on the sand,
kneeled and arranged his bowls and tools:
hook, mallet, clamp, chisel, rasp, razor.

His smile glinted in the rongeur’s claws,
and upside down in the curette’s spoon.
Light shone out of the needle’s eye.

“Hoosh,” he said and began plucking hairs,
paring calluses, shearing wool, shaving
to the follicles, cutting to the quick.

He sorted these, trimming skin with skin,
hair with hair, into rows of clay bowls,
and set a large basin to catch each sour drip

as he sliced the hide and used both fists
to yank back the whole stubbled, gray pelt,
as wet and red on its underside as afterbirth.

He piled this heavily away, draping it
in clean linen, and turned to the meat and bone
heaving under sheer, tight membrane.

Sawteeth chewed into femur, rib and shoulder.
Pliers twisted and wrenched away tendons
until everything softened, canted, and collapsed—

yet not one sliver dies. Each ribbon and shard
bawls for the horror and hurt of their missing,
wishing for the old braying wholeness.

Pain bloodies evening and morning,
stabbing day after day from even the first cuts,
like the slow light of far stars.

Eyeballs and heart float alone in the last bowl,
dark and defenseless, quavering when he leans down
and they recognize in his eyes how little is left.

“Easy now, Camel,” he says and lifts me
in his fingertips, one quivering strand at a time,
through the eye of the needle.

my obsession with the Pipers apparently extends beyond john.

blah blah blah

since school started back, no one's really blogging. it makes me sad.

however... i actually see some of you now. so thats good. and my sister got a blog. thats good. you should follow her. shes got funny stories from the 83 inner-city 8th grade boys to whom she teaches science.

i have no idea what im doing in 9 months. my parents asked me THE question today. what the hecks is i sposed to say to that? (answer: what do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhinoceros?)

im taking theology 101 from dr. bart box at the disciple-making institute at brookhills. yippee!

sara and i want to go to europe this summer. wanna come?

3 things:

1. labor day

2. molly chambers. meeting her for coffee in the morning :)

3. this verse: "return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you." i like to think about what it means that the Lord has dealt bountifully with my soul. any ideas?