The Preacher Man

Trying to convert the sceptical youth.

The preacher man sat him down
fixed him with a stare,
removed his hat, cleared his throat,
plucked a bible from thin air.
Slid a chair with screeching legs,
sat down face to face,
opened up what he believed
to a carefully chosen place.

He read aloud the faded text,
powerful his voice,
hallelujahed, praised the Lord
at moments of his choice.
A tale he told of suffering,
forgiveness, and of love,
a son sent down as sacrifice
by his father up above.

"Amen", uttered the preacher man,
raised his bowed down head,
closed the book without a sound
then to the boy he said.....
"2000 years and still he lives
a faith born from his death,
only the good seen in mankind,
right to his final breath."

"He gave his life that we may live,
opened a righteous way,
paved it with the love of God
and we walk it to this day.
And on this path I'll lead you son,
pray, let me take your hand,
I'll guide you to a better life
into the promised land."

The boy he stared, thought awhile,
then to the preacher said...
"What proof have you apart from tales
of a man for so long dead.
And if you believe in stories old,"
he took the briefest pause,
"Do you believe in tooth fairies,
Easter bunnies and Santa Claus....."

Author's Note

Well.........

Reviews

[Tazeen Ahmed]

Wonderfully written! Probably, the boy must have been innocent or rather 'smart'.
a very interesting and tempting poem.
"The preacher man sat him down
fixed him with a stare,
removed his hat, cleared his throat,
plucked a bible from thin air.
Slid a chair with screeching legs,
sat down face to face,
opened up what he believed
to a carefully chosen place. "
neatly described.

[Gee]

Thank you kindly

[Coyote Poetry]

I did enjoy the story and the ending in the poetry.
"Do you believe in the tooth fairy,
Easter bunny and Santa Claus....."
A perfect ending to the poem. Thank you Gee for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Gee]

Cheers, glad you found it ok.

[Coyote Poetry]

I did find it and Cheers back to you my friend.

[Tony Jordan]

Cue boot up the hole by said preacher (if it was my old parish priest anyways)

Imho, this is one of if not thee best of yours Gee.
You set the scene perfectly - gently reeling the reader in before thwacking them with the punchline. But they are left pondering. Skilfully done dear Gordon.

[Gee]

Thank you dear Tony, this happens to be one of my own personal favs. Glad you enjoyed.....just nipping away to lop off one of my lugs dear heart

[Tony Jordan]

Gogh already then Go!

[GypsyGhost]

I enjoyed the flow and rhythm of this one. Each line fits perfectly with the next. A fun read aloud.

[Gee]

Cheers, appreciate the review

[Ian Chris]

What a wonderful story written within the confines of a poem. Brilliant.
Ian Chris.

[Gee]

Thank you Ian

[Lorry]

I wonder what his answer was :)
Nice on, as ever Gee. The flow to this piece is perfect and the words just glide, until they are all too soon gone. Great piece.

[Gee]

Thanks Nemo, I enjoy writing this sort of piffle but only have the patience to be bothered every now and then

[Ted Kniffen]

I like your story line, Gee. This reminds me of the early works of Gordon Lightfoot, a consummate story teller and isn't that all we strive to be? A rather mystical take on this that I like. Good write.

[Gee]

Thank you for firstly ploughing through this and secondly for your kind words Ted

[Katie Lynn]

This was very well written! I love the rhythm and flow and rhyme scheme and everything about it. It has a real emotional depth behind it as the preacher is clearly showing how deep his faith and love runs, and yet it's still realistic in the way the boy's mind works even at the end of the long-winded tale. Truly a great piece, thanks for sharing!

[Gee]

Thank you for reviewing

[hcarson]

haha, such a ttypical thing a kid would come out with...especially mine.need i say how excellent this is? because it is, absolutely brillient, well done Gee :)

[Gee]

Cheers H,glad you enjoyed

[θεά]

This is extremely well thought out! I strongly recommend it to be among the top ten poetry of this site.
Faith is such a beautiful theme, and I am glad you've handled it with such gentle wisdom.

This is truly a memorable work!
Look forward to all your writing!

[Gee]

Could be all down hill from this point onwards.Thank you for your kind words

[θεά ]

I doubt that.
Best wishes, M.