Jesus and Andy Warhol: A Twice-Borrowed Christmas Blessing

Every year our wonderful poet friends John and Llewellyn McKernan of West Virginia send out a Christmas poem. This summer, when I saw Llewellyn at the Appalachian Writer’s Workshop, I told her once more how much I treasure this annual gift, and asked if it would be okay if I posted some of them. You can find John’s work here, and Llewellyn’s as well.

Here’s this year’s poem by Llewellyn and John:

ANDY WARHOL NEVER ONCE INTERVIEWED MARY

Magdalen   Never filmed Judas’s last nine hours
Never recorded Salome’s groans and clicks

Never photographed Jesus flogging the money changers
Or being beat by Roman soldiers with nailed whips
Never had a TV show on Herod butchering babies

But he went quite often to daily mass
At Saint Vincent Ferrer’s in Manhattan
And painted dozens of Last Suppers and
A 12×10 silk screen of Jesus Christ 112 times

Never forgetting the churches Christmases
Crèches of an icy Pittsburgh childhood
Even unto that corpsed gallstone finale
After his last words in paint & capital letters
HEAVEN AND HELL ARE JUST ONE BREATH AWAY

Merry Christmas.

[Warhol image from art.com]