Water from Jacob's Well

Photo credit: larrygrabill.com

A CUP OF WATER FROM JACOB’S WELL

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

We arrive at Shechem

and make our way

to Jacob’s Well

It surprises me to find

this ancient water source

that I first read about in Genesis

still operating

and I’m astonished

to be offered

a refreshing cupful

drawn deeply

from a bucket

on a rope

The water is clear and cool

and tastes ordinary, but

what can be ordinary

about water drawn

from the very well

of the old patriarch

built 4000 years ago?

I purchase a small ceramic urn

filled with an ounce or so

of life’s most basic sustenance

It is sealed with a plug of wax

I’ll place it on a shelf at home

not because of any

mystical or magical powers

(It is ordinary water, after all)

but to remind me

of how far back in time

God’s amazing story goes

Maude Carolan Pych