Poetry November 29, 2021 Issue

Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.
—Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 494

The stranger

Eleanor Winyard

I left Jerusalem for Jericho,
encountered thieves and robbers on the way,
lay beside the road, half dead.
Priest, then Levite, passing, shook their heads,
“Untouchable,” they said.

Then a stranger came,
compassionate and kind.
He stayed with me,
took care to bind the wounds
and pour in oil and wine—
such comfort, peace, and strength.

Then, with humility, he lifted me.
Together we moved forward
to a place where I could see
that Love alone is all
that governs me.