The Retelling

by allisonkujiraoka

The retelling

is past action

in present memory alive

wrestled into storylines

where contradictions arise

and details fall by the wayside.

Who got to the empty tomb faster,

and does it matter?

A raconteur

with garbled grammar,

an unreliable narrator:

One actor’s agency

in passive voice hidden

Another’s role dismissed

a purposeful elision

Tricked out verbiage

for entertainment value

A protagonist crowned

for their winning point of view

Whispers down the lane

of the hearers’ prejudice

Formatted to receive

and interpret juicy bits.

Do enemies multiply,

does the bad guy win?

Is there redemption,

forgiveness of sin?

Who is the scapegoat,

who is the fool?

What would you give

for a thread to unspool?