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The Woman at the Well
The Woman at the Well
The woman sallied forth across the hot valley in haste
Drenched in pearls of sweat she saw the well at a distance
Oddly enough she saw someone sitting on the parapet
She waited with her pot under an acacia tree fretfully
Nothing changed for a while that made her anxious
Deep in the surrounding thickets, an antelope cried in anguish
She sensed its predicament of being at the mercy of a predator
That sent shivers down her spine and pushed her towards the water
Walking towards the well she had a quick retrospective
What a mess she had made of her life in the past
That still continued to chase her like a dreadful poltergeist
She desperately wished to come out of her infamous past
All the same she felt helpless in untangling the knots
That had gone to the extent of challenging her existence
The more she hid herself from the rest of the world
The more burdensome and guiltier she began to comprehend
Reaching the well she silently
lowered her pot into the water
The blue tassels in his clothing rang a bell in her
His Jewish identity made her turn away while lifting the pot
‘Will you give me some water,’ asked the visitor
Taken aback she stammered, ‘Sir how can a Jew drink from my pot?’
He retorted, ‘If you ask me I will give you living water’
She wished to drink the water that would never make her thirsty
For which the visitor asked her to come with her husband
His clause made her feel restless as she had no husband
Besides, the man told her what she had been doing with her life
Having lived with five husbands and now living with another’s man
She realized she was talking to the Messiah the Promised One
She put her jar down and ran away to share the world her encounter
With God who was capable of wiping one’s past and transforming lives
Understanding her God was not a punishing God but a healing One
Gave her new hope to live life leaving aside her baggage of remorse
