#Poetry #Poem
PRODIGAL SON
by Bill Kochman
11-05-2023
Once there was a foolish man,
The youngest son of a father,
With those things of the Spirit,
He just did not wish to bother.
Then there came a certain day,
He said, Give my share to me,
Pa, I am so tired of living here,
The whole world I want to see.
So gathering all of his things,
Off to a foreign land he went,
Where he lived so wastefully,
Till all his money he had spent.
But alas, a great famine came,
He had not with which to dine,
But by chance he found a job,
In the fields he fed the swine.
At last he came to his senses,
As hunger ripped thru his soul,
Why must I suffer in this place,
Pa’s hired men have a full bowl.
Thus, I’ll go back to my father,
And I’ll humbly confess my sin,
No longer worthy to be his son,
As his servant I’ll beg to begin.
So the young man went home,
And pa saw him as he came,
He kissed his son on his neck,
But upon him he cast no blame.
The bewildered man then said,
I sinned against heaven & thee,
Father, my sin is so very great,
Your son I am not worthy to be.
But his pa would not hear of it,
He gave him shoes, robe & ring,
He ordered a fatted calf be killed,
So they could all dine and sing.
And as they all did merrily eat,
He said, this my son was dead,
He was not being very spiritual,
Worldly things so filled his head.
But behold now he is alive again,
Whereas before he was just lost,
Thus I have given him this feast,
You see I haven’t spare any cost.
While the merriments occurred,
Elder son arrived from the field,
A servant told him everything,
With anger his heart then filled.
Elder son refused to go inside,
So pa came outside to speak,
But overtaken by so much rage,
Son’s jealousy reached its peak.
Pa, I have served you all my life,
And did everything as you wish,
Yet despite being so loyal to you
I never got a special meaty dish.
Yet my brother comes from afar,
Having wasted all that you gave,
He’s just not worthy of this feast,
You should make him your slave!
So father looked at him pitifully,
And said, All that I have is yours,
Your brother is alive and found,
So it was right to open our doors.
