Here are three triolets on Matthew 20:1-16. I am posting these poems both here and at my Substack.
A Trio of Triolets on the Parable of the Vineyard
The Laborers in the Vineyard
We worked all day. We do not want
You, Master, to be merciful.
Those men came late. Their good’s our taunt.
We worked all day. We do not want
Their good. How will they learn? They’ll flaunt
Such kindness. It’s not fair that while
We worked all day, they did not want
To. Master, don’t be merciful.
The Master of the Vineyard
Are you displeased that I am good
And gave them what they did not earn?
If you changed places with them, would
You be displeased that I am good?
If you had need of friend and food,
How quickly (I suspect) you’d learn
To plead with me that I be good
And give you what you did not earn.
The Preacher at His Lesson
So far the text. How does it scan
The heart that hears it? Listen well.
If by the law God judged a man,
How far the text in rigor scans,
So far he fails of its demands
And must die out his days in hell.
That is the text. Now let it scan
Your heart, and hear it. Listen well.
