Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Michael TopaJune 09, 2017

Jerusalem Slim *
by Michael Topa

I did not know it was Joy
And her fingers
Blessing me from words
Trapped in stone

Now in Gethsemane
You who could not wait
One hour  sleep like salt

Scattered on the ground
But even now  I forget
Where the difference falls

Some say Elijah
Some say John
But Joy  you say nothing
And take me on

*This is what my father called Christ, alone and muttering to himself, while nursing his Four Roses whiskey at the kitchen table.

Now in Gethsemane / You who could not wait / One hour  sleep like salt

Michael Topa was born in Ann Arbor, MI and grew up there, in Texas and Afghanistan. He has worked as a Psychoeducational Consultant in the field of school psychology, and is the co-founder and current Director of Greenoaks Educational Services. This poem was a runner-up in America’s 2017 Foley Poetry contest.

 

 

More: Prayer
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Join the 'Jesuitical' team at the studio and headquarters of America Media in New York City for two days of community, prayer and sharing stories of faith.
JesuiticalMay 30, 2025
Solar panels on the roof of the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican in this Dec. 1, 2010, file photo. The installation had been approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Pope Francis released his landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Si'" 10 years ago May 24, 2015. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
There are some signs of progress in addressing the questions raised in “Laudato Si’.” There are also intimations of backpedaling, particularly by the Trump administration, regarding the industrialized world’s malign effects on creation.
Kevin ClarkeMay 30, 2025
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry explore the pope’s message to the Vatican workforce and recap Pope Leo’s formal installation at the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, May 25.
Inside the VaticanMay 30, 2025
Joining Zac and Ashley on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” is Jamie Baxter, Founder & CEO of Exodus 90, a program that helps men to strengthen their faith through prayer, asceticism and fraternity.
JesuiticalMay 30, 2025