Martha and Mary

Martha in the kitchen...

The practical one.

Mary more the maid of thought,

The contemplative,

Maybe the lazier of the two.

But nevertheless,

Her mind was on matters

Other than pots and pans,

Food and drink,

The necessary things of life.

It would be nice to be Mary,

Seated on the cool floor,

Away from the kitchen's heat,

The bubbling pots,

Listening to the teacher,

Who had come to visit,

That once in a lifetime chance

To hear and sense

The mystery of the rabbi

Claiming to have come from God.

© Peggy Latham, 2014

Johannes Vermeer's "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary"
at the Scottish National Gallery
from Wikimedia Commons