What did they expect 
when they followed him to Bethany, 
a whole day’s journey from the scene of Jerusalem’s crime
and its surprising aftermath?
He had been talking about what they would do next, 
but he kept leaving out his part 
whenever they tried to tie him down on that point.  

He repeated his big dream for them 
one more time
before he grinned 
and a gust of wind picked him up.
A brief tug of war with gravity
(they groped for him,
futile attempts to keep him grounded,
to call him back: please, please, 
don’t let him get away!)
but Houdini Jesus shrugged
and sighed at their tattered faith
trying to hold him in its tether.

When he looked up again,
a mysterious, animated mist appeared, 
beckoning and embracing him.
He relaxed into the welcome.

Only in his absence
would their understanding bloom
and go to seed,
a dandelion puff
the Spirit could not resist scattering
everywhere
out of control,
finding purchase in 
the most unexpected places.