He Knew

A poem for Maundy Thursday after John 13:1–17, 31–35

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Photo by Mishal Ibrahim on Unsplash

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He Knew By Matthew White
A poem for Maundy Thursday after John 13:1–17, 31–35

He knew the hour had come.
The meal set before him
his imminent departure—
aperture
through which the light gets in.

He knew every bunion and blister,
every crack, corn, and callus
but kept on stooping low,
coming close,
tending to weary soles.

He knew the power to rule
and the power to cool
every unbaptised ankle,
every foot
refusing to heel.

He knew Peter’s ignorance,
plunged his protestations
in the waters of his mercy.
A purging
and submerging of faith yet to float.

He knew his betrayer.
He knew who was clean
and in need of cleaning.
Words of truth
and life awash with meaning.

He knew examples must be seen
in order to be followed.
He taught with tactile hands
and towels,
wiping away every fear.

He knew true value of love
seen loving, of grace glimpsed,
of fractious, fickle followers
following.
He knew each past and future.

He knew mountains made beautiful
by the feats of those who
bring good news. His new command:
“Love. Love. Love
one another as you have been loved.”

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Very grateful to feature an original poem by Matthew White for Maundy Thursday. Matthew White is an Anglican priest, poet and songwriter based in West Sussex in the United Kingdom. His work has been published in The Way Back 2 Ourselves and Paddler Press. Matthew's debut poetry collection, “Propelled Into Wonder,” which explores themes of beauty, faith, leadership, and loss, was published in September 2024 to wide acclaim. Matthew is married to Sarah and they have 3 children. You can connect with Matthew by visiting his website: https://www.matthewwhite.online and by joining the mailing list. You can also follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/matthewwhitepics and https://www.instagram.com/poetunearthed, and you can subscribe to “Idle and Blessed Poetry” on Substack to receive new and original poems from Matthew direct to your inbox each week: https://idleandblessed.substack.com/subscribe