Jesus and Andy Warhol: A Twice-Borrowed Christmas Blessing (Reprise)

 

It’s always a pleasure to get original poems from friends. This is one of my favorites (2009) of the many we’ve received over the years. I’ll post their latest closer to Christmas.

 

 

Every year our wonderful poet friends John and Llewellyn McKernan (formerly) 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

 

[Warhol image from art.com]