Genesis 3:10 (Re-read)

by Glenn Loughrey

I was in
the garden
Country
Home
Mother
Cousins
Creatures

I was
naked

No need
for clothes
All there
were naked
Nothing to
hide behind

Physically
Emotionally
Spiritually

All was on show
All accepted

Then you
saw me
for the first time
from a distance
on the shore

Unlike
any
other
you had
witnessed

Naked
Exposed
Free
At ease
At home
on Country

And you were afraid

Not of me
but of yourself

Hidden
behind
cloth
buckles
belts
boots
boats
and weapons

Afraid
to let me see
you
as your God
made you

So you
hid me
from view

Courtesy of
your afraidness
your weapons
your power

The power
to make me
disappear

But not
the courage
to appear

The Rev Canon Glenn Loughrey, Wiradjuri
Artist, Author, Speaker,Performer.
A/Prof. Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, Canberra
Canon – Artist in Residence, St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne