a day for the ordinary people
to imagine their wildest hopes
were about to be fulfilled
when anything that came
to hand was pressed into
celebration of a king’s arrival
a day when wild hysteria
ran like rogue electricity
through the crowds
and one person’s feeble
shout of praise, spread
like a thundering wave
What were you thinking
as you rode that humble
donkey through the throng?
Knowing the hearts of human
beings, did you appreciate
or fear that raw emotion?
Was it hard to visualise
the tragic end of that
triumphal journey?
And would you have wished,
if it had still been possible,
to retrace your steps to Galilee.
* Mingei: Japanese folk art, created by and for the people, using local everyday materials.