Saving Sincerity

[John 1:47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

----------------------/Saving Sincerity: Jesus' Thoughts Before Greeting Nathaniel


We used to sit on docks and dissect the Roman senate
positing better, Jewish ideas
for an empire
fantasizing about the redolent incense pouring
out the temple of Diana
wondrous of the ceremonious spectacle
our feet submerged in the Galilean Sea
and scoffing at the spineless compromise of Sadducees
disingenuously currying favor with Caesar
skipping rocks
you pining about the perceived wiles of matrimony
(belied by your strong desire for it)
me privy to a greater sense of wholeness
friends nonetheless
fellowshipping often until dusk and the rise of the moon
bid us home to our parents before their angst
grew to a din

Steadfastly studious in the synagogues
never shy to say a thought your mind channeled
perennial invitations sent summoning others to your heart's
soliloquies
withholding no good sentiment from anyone
and I always appreciated this genuineness
highly influential to my Spirit, even today
amidst the corruption of man
sinister mores and evil approbations
those hypocritical duplicitous snakes
and those so pained that they concoct vendetta
swords readily drawn to commit murder
at every pleasantry exchanged
forever guarded
forever cynical
never vulnerable or willing to reckon
chronically obscured

And they say aging makes the world grimmer
but those that live forever clasp tightly to their youth
and their buoyancy
so my most frequented refuge is those moments
we spent watching others fish (sometimes futilely)
and loving each other truly
these were foundational pillars to a Messiah
always setting his aim on frankness
holding hands with you
running from deceit

(and guile)