Palm Sunday A detail of the story

First, untie the donkey
the one that’s standing at the gate
waiting to be untied --

from some sorrow
or some guilt,
from somebody else’s judgment –
too young for the ride, or too old,
too much tattoo ink on the skin,
parkinsons in the hands,
pregnant in the belly.

First, untie the donkey,
the one that’s standing at the gate
waiting to be untied –

from some abusive relationship
or some really intricate
self-made knots,
because what binds
always pretends to be a blessing.

This is just the donkey God wants
for the ride –
this burro with no documents,
or others not-yet-ridden
because they are –
gender-queer, recovery-thin,
on-the-spectrum.

So, first untie the donkey –
this one –
the one who needs a parade,
the one willing to carry both joy
and the premonition of cross,

the one embracing
a day of song and danger,
fetlock deep in palms,
and a life that will echo … Hosanna.

©The Rev. Maren Tirabassi
Image commons wikipedia