’32-Year-Old-Jesus in Almost Heaven’
By Greg Clary | for WestVirginiaVille.com
Jesus at 32, hitching the backroads,
dust in his beard, sandals worn,
smelling of cedarwood, Hai Karate, sweat,
humming something old, something deep,
something I heard my Papaw sing
late one night on the porch.
Beer joint on the edge of a hidden coal town,
faded hippies and aging miners
lean heavy on the bar,
stretching stories, chasing ghosts,
drowning the years in cans of Falls City
while nickel loosies glow in their cracked lips,
smoke curling like questions no
preacher ever answered right.
In the corner, a sleeping West Virginia Brown Dog
knows more about grace than the tough talking
jagoff at the end of the bar.
Jesus just sits,
nods slow, refusing to flinch,
letting the weight of it all settle.
Resolution through compassion:
that’s the gospel tonight.
No fire, no brimstone, only a quiet knowing.
just a man who could turn water
Into something stronger, but
lets them drink what they can handle.
Living with no regrets?
That’s a lie they tell themselves.
But Jesus ain’t here to argue.
He just listens, while caressing the neck
of a Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe,
waiting for his time to take the stage.
POETRY AFTERWORD
Some background from Greg Clary: I heard a friend of mine, in her frustration and anger, belt out: “Dear 32-year-old-Jesus, how about some help here?!’ The word ‘fuck’ was also heard. I then thought of John Prine’s song: “Jesus: The Missing Years,” and wrote my friend’s line down for safekeeping. It popped out recently morning prior to the recent visit of a friend. TERMS: ‘Loosies‘: A few West Virginia bars I used to visit would have loose cigarettes sitting in a glass jar that were sold for a nickel each. ‘Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe’: Find your favorite model here.
Greg Clary is a retired Clarion University professor of Rehab and Human Services who was born and raised in Turkey Creek, West Virginia. He has lived in the northwestern Pennsylvania wilds for the past 40 years. His photographs have appeared in The Sun Magazine, Looking at Appalachia, Rattle, Hole in the Head Review, and many more. His writing has been published widely, including the Rye Whiskey Review, The Bridge Literary Journal, Northern Appalachia Review, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Waccamaw Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, and ‘Wild Wind: An Anthology of Stories and Poems Inspired by the Songs of Robert Earl Keen.’ His new book of photographs and poetry, ‘The Vandalia in Me,’ was released by Meraki Press in October, 2024. Purchase it at Cicada Books in Huntington, WV; Booktenders in Barboursville, WV; Blythe Books in Pittsburgh; Sparrow Books in Clarion, PA, and Watershed Books in Brookville, PA, and Amazon and Barnes & Nobles on-line.
