by Leslie Anne Bustard

(after Andrew Wyeth’s painting with the same name)

“We’ve worked all night and caught nothing, but I will do as you say”  
— Peter

My mind raced when the fishing net 
we pulled up from the water was full. 

Andrew and I check the frayed cords as 
we hung it between two poles to dry.

A breeze off the sea moved 
its brown lines and still no tare. 

Without a thought, I agreed when Jesus said,
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” 

Then there was the day we collected twelve
baskets of fish and bread and later 

climbed in the boat to cross the night sea. 
The dark waves nearly tossed us overboard.

Still, I jumped out when I saw Him—
walking on the water in our direction. 

I was surrounded by high winds and fear. 
But He had me in the boat before I could sink.

Sorrow and tears nearly overwhelmed me
those days after the rooster crowed, 
the curtain tore in two, and 
Jesus lay dead in the tomb.

Then the morning we heard the words 
“Throw your net to the right!” coming from the beach...

The net we pulled in was bursting 
with hundreds of fish. Yet, no ropes were torn. 

I jumped out of the boat again.
Jesus was there at the shoreline, 
beckoning us to a fire with fish and bread.

Today the sound of the wind roared 
around us in the upper room. 

I proclaimed before thousands, 
“It will be in the last days, says God, 
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” 

And there I am with Jesus 
that morning the fish-full net did not rip.

---

Leslie Anne Bustard is a writer, poet, and editor who lives with her family in Lancaster City, PA. She writes for Cultivating Project and Black Barn Online. Some of her other writings can be found at Calla Press, Deeply Rooted, and Christians in the Visual Arts. Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children, a book of essays she co-edited, will be released this April through Square Halo books. Her website, Poetic Underpinnings, contains her writings, podcasts, and the goodness of other people’s creativity.