In Sir Stanley Spencer’s 1920 painting "Christ Carrying The Cross", Jesus is shown walking down the main street in Cookham on Thames, Berkshire

When Jesus came to Cookham

When Jesus came to Cookham
he strolled down
the main street
for three minutes
one Saturday morning
without warning.
Mrs Hazlitt
from the bookshop
couldn't quite
place the face.

When Jesus came to Cookham
no one knew
quite what to do.
One person gathered
in the church
where the priest advised
against a sacrifice
whether animal
or otherwise.

When Jesus came to Cookham
it took him
three minutes
to realise
he'd come too soon.
So he left
carrying a case
in the shape of a cross.

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