We should have believed
after the angel had told us he was risen.Had the tomb really been empty?
Had I imagined the whole thing?
Had we been in a dream?
So I went back
scared of finding it true.
Why scared? I cannot tell
except that the good news frightened me;
it seemed unnatural, impossible.
I went alone,
trying to master fear,
to make myself ready to believe the unbelievable.
The other Mary stayed behind;
I stumbled across the stones.
I reached the sepulchre,
certain the tomb was empty.
Only Josiah the gardener, wrapt in a brown cloak,
was coming towards me.
My eyes were too full of tears�
I couldn�t see clearly�
and then he spoke, �Mary!�
Of course! He had risen without clothes,
had borrowed Josiah�s cloak.
My heart suddenly stopped beating.
The voice was unmistakable.
I rushed towards him,
longing to embrace him,
but, �Touch me not;� the voice was stern,
so I knelt at his feet instead,
and once again
I washed them with my tears.
He told me not to cry.
I say, �My master, these are tears of joy.�
�Then go out and spread that joy,� he said,
�Run quickly!
Tell the others that their Lord is risen,
tell them I�m on my way to Galilee.�
So I ran. It took time to absorb the exhilaration,
and then I wanted to scream out, �Thank you, thank you, God!�
Magdalen Remembers
Sylvia Read