Author’s Note:
This poem is my rendering of a story in the Gospel of Mark, 5:24-33. Jesus and his followers enter a village. The leader of the synagogue asks Jesus to cure his dying daughter. Jesus agrees, but crowds are pressing around them, and a woman with chronic vaginal bleeding touches the hem of Jesus’ garment to be healed. Jesus stops to speak, then continues on to attend to the original request. The quoted dialogue is as rendered in Mark’s story, but attentive Bible readers will notice I’ve transposed a line from another healing story (Mark 9:24), spoken by the father of another ailing child. The writers of the four New Testament Gospels often used the same tactic, transferring words and actions, omitting and adding, as it served their vision.