Poem of the Week Chris Vannoy

Chris Vannoy

Chris Vannoy is a prominent poet based in San Diego, California. He is known for his contributions to the Beat poetry movement and has been an active figure in the poetry community for over two decades. Vannoy has performed extensively on open mic stages in San Diego and has toured across the United States and Europe1. He was honored as the San Diego Beat Poet Laureate (2017-2019) and the US National Beat Poet Laureate (2018-2019). He was later honored in 2022 with a Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate Award by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc.

Backstory

I was running THE POETS TREE open reading at Twiggs Coffee Shop here in San Diego and this lady walked in and did her set for the open mic. After the reading, I ask her how long she was going to be in the area. She told me that she had to get to Detroit and that she was on her way to see some friends in Wisconsin. My Sunday school training steered the second half of the poem. On my first trip to London, I happened upon the Mary Magdalene church and read my poem upon its steps…and that is the rest of the story.

Mary Magdalene

She was just passing through
on her way to Wisconsin on her way to Detroit
She would be there for only one week
her bags were packed with many circumstances
the schedule she had constructed with no deviation
it held no leeway for the pair of eyes
that touched the hem of her slip
or for the voice that tumbled her to his feet
She was just passing through
and his feet were there
she felt water and earth
felt his touch
his touch of words
felt water and earth

With a brush of his hand
he had washed her
and with the touch of his eyes he had cleansed her
she stroked the dust of long roads
from his feet
then dried them
where her tears had fallen
on his feet
she dried them
with her hair
and he was just passing through
on his way home.

 

© 2024 Chris Vannoy

Origin: Luke 7:36–50