"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Mary Magdalene

It was she who believed
that  a man walked among
them who could push back a stone.
It was she he showed himself to-
a peasant in a hood with a hoe.
It was she who knew him.

If the gospels had been written by women instead of men how much more would we know about this woman?

13 comments:

Deborah said...

A very good point! Charlotte Bronte made the same point (obliquely) when she wrote her poem Pilate's Wife's Dream. (Brought to my attention by blogger Trevor Kidd this weekend.)
Happy Easter!

Jemi Fraser said...

Interesting question! There is a definite difference in history depending on who the teller is!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Deborah,
Pilate's Wife's Dream? What an awesome name for a poem and one I obviously am not familiar with. I will check it out and Trevor Kidd while I'm at it. Thanks for commenting.

Jemi,
How much of our history is reinvented by the teller? How much is being reinvented today by those in charge of school textbook publishing? Thanks and Happy Easter.

Pet said...

I have always been partial to her!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Pet.
Me too. Thanks.

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

A very good point...but I have to ask this question: if the gospels had only been written by women, would we now be sitting wondering about the story of the MAtthews and the Peters? What I'd really like to have seen is the same hisorical events written from both a male & a female perspective. Now that would be an interesting read!!

Love the poem, Yvonne, and looking forward to reading your story in VARIATIONS ON A THEME (when my copy arrives in the mail!)

Judy, South Africa

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hi Judy,
Point well taken. I'm glad you liked it and hope you like my short story. Variations is quite a varied collection. Yours is one of my favorites.

Steven J. Wangsness said...

Interesting question.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Steven,
Thanks.

Al said...

hear hear!

Frances Garrood said...

I love the "peasant in a hood with a hoe". A lovlel piece for Easter, Yvonne.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks Al!

Frances,
Thank you so much!

Yvonne Osborne said...

And Frances, I wanted to say that I once saw a Renissance painting that protrayed the moment and the artist pictured him thus.