we walked on I looked upon His face.
But how shall I tell you of what I saw?
A night where candles burn in space;
A dream beyond our reaching;
A noon where all shepherds are at peace and happy that their flock are grazing;
An eventide, and a stillness, and a homecoming;
Then a sleep and a dream.
All these things I saw in His face.
He had given me the two apples. And I knew He was hungry even as I was hungry.
But I now know that in giving them to me He had been satisfied. He Himself ate of other fruit from another tree.
I would tell you more of Him, but how shall I?
When love becomes vast love becomes wordless.
And when memory is overladen it seeks the silent deep.
Peter
Once in Capernaum my Lord and Master spoke thus:
“Your neighbour is your other self dwelling behind a wall. In understanding, all walls shall fall down.
“Who knows but that your neighbour is your better self wearing another body? See that you love him as you would love yourself.
“He too is a manifestation of the Most High, whom you do not know.
“Your neighbour is a field where the springs of your hope walk in their green garments, and where the winters of your desire dream of snowy heights.
“Your neighbour is a mirror wherein you shall behold your countenance made beautiful by a joy which you yourself if not know, and by a sorrow you yourself did not share.
“I would have you love your neighbour even as I have loved you.”
Then I asked Him saying: “How can I love a neighbour who loves me not, and who covets my property? One who would steal my possessions?”
And He answered: “When you are ploughing and your manservant is sowing the seed behind you, would you stop and look backward and put to flight a sparrow feeding upon a few of your seeds? Should you do this, you were not worthy of the riches of your harvest.”
When Jesus had said this, I was ashamed and I was silent. But I was not in fear, for He smiled upon me.
A Cobbler in Jerusalem
I loved Him not, yet I did not hate Him. I listened to Him not to hear His words but rather the sound of His voice; for His voice pleased me.
All that He said was vague to my mind, but the music thereof was clear to my ear.
Indeed were it not for what others have said to me of His teaching, I should not have known even so much as whether He was with Judea or against it.
Susannah of Nazareth, a Neighbour of Mary
I knew Mary the mother of Jesus, before she became the wife of Joseph the carpenter, when we were both still unwedded.
In those days Mary would behold visions and hear voices, and she would speak of heavenly ministers who visited her dreams.
And the people of Nazareth were mindful of her, and they observed her going and her coming. And they gazed upon her with kindly eyes, for there were heights in her brows and spaces in her steps.
But some said she was possessed. They said this because she would go only upon her own errands.
I deemed her old while she was young, for there was a harvest in her blossoming and ripe fruit in her spring.
She was born and reared amongst us, yet she was like an alien from the North Country. In her eyes there was always the astonishment of one not yet familiar with our faces.
And she was as haughty as Miriam of old who marched with her brothers form the Nile to the wilderness.
Then Mary was betrothed to Joseph the carpenter.
When Mary was big with Jesus she would walk among the hills and return at eventide with loveliness and pain in her eyes.
And when Jesus was born I was told that Mary said to her mother: “I am but a tree unpruned. See you to this fruit.” Martha the midwife heard her.
After three days I visited her. And there was wonder in her eyes, and her breasts heaved, and her arm was around her firstborn like the shell that holds the pearl.
We all loved Mary’s babe and we watched Him, for there was warmth in His being and He throbbed with the pace of His life.
The seasons passed, and He became a boy full of laughter and little wanderings. None of us knew what He would do, for He seemed always outside of our race. But He was never rebuked though He was venturous and overdaring.
He played with the other children rather than they with Him.
When He was twelve years old, one day He led a blind man across the brook to the safety of the open road.
And in gratitude the blind man asked Him: “Little boy, who are you?”
And He answered: “I am not a little boy. I am Jesus.”
And the blind man said: “Who is your father?”
And He answered: “God is my father.”
And the blind man laughed and replied: “Well said, my little boy. But who is your mother?”
And Jesus answered: “I am not your little boy. And my mother is the earth.”
And the blind man said: “Then behold, I was led by the Son of God and the earth across the stream.”
And Jesus answered: “I will lead you wherever you would go, and my eyes will accompany your feet.”
And He grew like a precious palm tree in our gardens.
When He was nineteen He was as comely as a hart, and His eyes were like honey and full of the surprise of day.
And upon His mouth there was the thirst of the desert flock for the lake.
He would walk the fields alone and our eyes would follow Him, and the eyes of all the maidens of Nazareth. But we were shy of Him.
Love is forever shy of beauty, yet beauty shall forever be pursued by love.
Then the years bade Him speak in the
