In Salem as it is in Heaven

In Salem as it is in Heaven

2'x4', Acrylic on Canvas, 2012

I Know

poetry by Brian James, art by Kerrie James

inspired by Genesis 3:1-15

I know that snake.

He curls himself around the firmly founded world.

He seems to bend the steady light and certain color.

I’ve seen him twist a right and ready good into a grief.

That solitary thief has stole our peace and let us suffer.

I know that fruit.

It hangs with heavy juice and heavy things to know.

It strains the branch it hangs from, and it’s ripeness pulls it lower.

I’ve seen it in my hands and I’ve tasted it before.

I shudder from the flavor; I am lonely when it’s over.

 I know that leaf.

It stretches broad and makes for me a place to hide.

It stitches well to make a nearly seamless span of cover.

I wrap myself within it and my audience is blinded

From the shame that racks my body and the cold that makes me shudder.

I know those trees.

Their canopies create a shadow for the lost.

Their branches make a home beneath the knowing of the Lord.

We huddle close between them hoping he will overlook us.

His beckoning betrays the citadel these trees afford.

I know those feet.

They wander on the earth that bursts with grace and thorn.

They trample and they travel, gather dust and soil floors.

I know the stinging of the serpent when he strikes them in the heels.

I’ve seen them crush the serpent when our garden was restored.

(8x10, Watercolor, 2012)

Brian and Levi

 Brian and Levi

8x10, Pencil on Bristol, 2012

 (detail)

Pickering

Pickering

8x10, Acrylic on panel, 2012

Burying Ground

Burying Ground

12x12, Acrylic on canvas, 2012

Risen

Risen

6x12, Acrylic on panel, 2012

7 Last Words of Christ: "Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit."

"Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit."

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "It is finished."

"It is finished."

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "I thirst."

"I thirst"
4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?""

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "Dear woman, here is your son...here is your mother."

"Dear woman, here is your son...here is your mother."

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "You will be with me in paradise."

 "You will be with me in paradise."

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

7 Last Words of Christ: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing."

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing."

4x6, Linoleum Block Print, 2009

Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah 53:5
24x46, Acrylic on canvas, 2009