Her mid-day arrival at the well
speaks volumes, reveals her outcast state,
a fallen Samaritan woman, three
strikes at high noon. His request
for a drink surprises her, breaks
the rules. She asks for the living
water he offers, understanding neither

the gift nor the giver. His unveiling
of her past startles her; she retreats
into a conversation about the prophet
to come and the right place of worship.
“The messiah will come” she says,
“and he will explain all things.”
“I am he” he says. In a moment

of full disclosure the outsider
and the messiah stand face to face
for one lucid fragment of time,
no pretense about who
they are. She knows herself; she
knows him. By telling her who
she is, he shows her who he is.

DAS