Page 190 - Eggs and Ashes pages

Good Friday 189

I don’t understand adults

A boy in the crowd watches Jesus carry his cross.

I don’t understand adults.
They make me angry sometimes.
Look at them now,
treating Jesus like a piece of dirt.
What has he done to be treated this way?

I met him once in our village.
His friends had been shouting at each other;
I’d watched them from the other side of the road.

Jesus called me over to him.
I was shy of strangers.
My mum had told me to be careful,
but I’d seen him before telling stories
and I’d listened to him.
He had some good ideas.

Jesus asked me what I enjoyed,
and I told him about the games I play with my friends.
He knew what I was talking about.
I told him about how I always got the blame when I row with my sister.
He knew about that too –
he’d had little sisters as well.

I like Jesus.
Grown-ups don’t always listen to me
but I can talk to him,
and he listens and understands.

I feel sorry for him today.
I’m angry with the people who are hurting him.
And where are his friends?
Why aren’t they sticking up for him?
Why have they all run away?

Ruth Burgess and Andrew Softley, aged 12