Had I Been Born Near Jordan's Flow

Had I been born near Jordan's flow,

Grown next a plow, oxen bow,

Trod thistled fields behind His tread,

Would I have noticed Satan's dread?

Skipping stones with Joseph's sons,

Scribing lessons, Temple-tongued,

Wrestling high on sawdust pile

Should I have caught Creation's smile?

And when we bar of manhood reached,

Ceiling of our childhood breached,

Funneled down a well worn path

Could I have sensed a feral wrath?

Had He and I in history crossed,

His chiseled hands on wood embossed

As master of his craft and trade,

Would we have laughed, friendship made?

Might we have shared a drink or two,

Talked of rain, conjectured who

Would reap the greatest yield this year,

Shared tricks to stubborn donkey steer?

Discussed the news from out of Rome,

Temple tax, state of throne,

How best to treat embedded thorns,

Prediction of a temple torn?

Had I been fishing when He called,

Seen Simon Peter, John enthralled,

Watched crowds engulf my childhood friend,

Would I have followed fevered trend?

And when the faithful left him dry,

Their King abandoned, mocked, despised,

When bloodied figure stood alone

Would I and Peter all disown?

I sometimes dream these heady days,

Me and Christ, village-raised,

Then wake in time with sense to know

I have been born near Jordan's flow.