The Joke around the Water Cooler and Other Dilemmas

Let us nail ourselves to him, resisting
the temptation to stand apart or to join
others in mocking him.” —Pope Benedict XVI

Let us nail ourselves to him and resist
temptation’s lure to mock the one
who loves us most. Surely this
is the serpent’s curse: angel outdone

by temptation’s lure. We mock: one
sinister hiss and pride slithers in.
As serpents, we curse angels, done
with the debt we owe. Sin’s

sinister hiss: a pride that slithers in
to our reason till we forget
the debt we owe. Ah sin’s
glide into the lives we’ve kept

shiny with reason till we forget
the garden serpent still hisses
and glides into our lives. We’ve kept
its skin near even as we miss His

Garden. “Come back,” the thirsty snake hisses,
“I love you most. Surely this
skin is like His. The world’s here. Don’t miss it
for nails and Him. He wants you for Himself. Resist.”