Teacher

Jesus never said a thing
without the ring
of action round his pricking words.
When he declared
that cheeks should turn
each time their other halves were spurned,
remember that his own cheek fared
worse than those he preached to. See,
when they were striking,
he was biting
each resisting word inside
his mouth. No, deeper still:
when called to walk the extra mile, no talk
but actions
              louder than
                       all holy words which can’t disguise or hide
the shallowness of tongues which bless
but fork with passive will.