Old Acquaintances
"Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?" 'Old Lang Zion, Dan Fogelberg
Chances are remote
that I shall ever see him again,
but his acquaintance shall never be forgotten.
We worked for the same company,
and he was one of the mechanics that
worked on the company cars I drove.
On the side, when I needed him, I paid
him to fix my personal car. By religion, he was Moslem. By religion, I was Christian.
I do not remember his name, and he never
could remember mine. But he called me Jesus.
Both he and I knew that I was not Jesus, nor was I
comfortable being called by that heavenly name, but it was
no secret that he realized who I most wanted to be like in life.
I could not accept being called by such a Holy name. So, at first,
I forbade to be called by the name Jesus until I understood how
much it meant to him. No. We did not waste time judging each other but sought to make the most of our friendship.
Occasionally, the thought of my ex-co-worker flashes before me. I do not recall that we talked a lot about our religion, but I do remember that both our lives were open books. We read each other's books, and I am humbled that he must have seen something of Christ in my life.
For a season, he was a blessing to me; and as I write this short recall, I am whispering a prayer for an ex-co-worker and friend I once knew. The last time that I saw him was more than 30 years ago, but I shall long remember that we crossed paths and were small puzzle pieces in each other's lives.
071922PSCtest, 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 9, Mark Toney
Copyright © Curtis Johnson | Year Posted 2022
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