by Susan Shea

Looking for hand carved items
on eBay my eyes fell upon an
item I wanted so much I pressed
buy with a desperate urgency that
grabbed me 
surprised me

only 29 dollars sold by a woman
who mostly sold old dolls

only a log 
28 inches long
hand carved heads in a row
Jesus and all twelve disciples

the look on every face a place
that lived deep inside me 
beyond my knowing

when I received it I had to find out
what kind of reddish tree this came from

probably foreign
probably very old

I started to imagine a man
carrying this log with him for the
long time it took him to carve
so many details in every face
like a place
that calls and tells 

I wish I could meet this man
I wish I could hold his hand

words would not be 
enough praise
for his glory
to God

---

Susan Shea is a poet, and a retired school psychologist who worked with middle school students who struggled with emotional, learning, and physical challenges. Although she grew up in New York City, Susan spent most of her life in a suburb of New York. She currently lives in a forest in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband, who is a semi-retired drug and alcohol counselor, and their cats.