13th Sunday after Pentecost

Mark 7:1-23

The young child grew and blossomed
Full of love and joy
Each morning was greeted with a song
And laughter
And a glass of spilled milk
Graciously lapped up
By her best furry friend
Under her chair
And her days were filled with new adventures
Exploding her horizons
With each new discovery
And a fair sampling of dirt
Smeared from soiled hands
To now soiled clothes
Until one day
The clouds seemed to cover the sun
Differently
Than they did before
And she learned not to spill her milk
Though she never did figure out
How
To feed her furry friend
And one day
She learned something new about dirt
And where she could not play
And where she could not wipe her hands
She also learned other things
She could not do
Until one day
While sitting there sad
And very still
She learned
She was a good girl