Secrets in the night
shared openly between
holy man and Holiest
the latter, the giver of life
the former, a religious leader
longing for the nearness
of the man of miracles
thirsty for the taste of a spirit
he could not name
and so Nicodemus came
bearing a bowl of need
too full by far already
with inherited half-truths
peppered with
human understanding:
Can one enter the second time
into the mother’s womb
and be born?
The wrong question, indeed.
Little wonder
the gift of spirit offered
is so rarely received.
We must come instead
with only the cup
of our own bare hands
then hold them out, empty
and leave it to the Lord
to do the filling.
He has spirit enough
to pour out
for us all.
John 3:1–17