The Woman at the Well
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John 4:4–26
For years, my password at workwas WellWoman. I clicked the keys
swiftly, coffee steam swirling upfrom my left hand as I typed.
WellWoman1. Exclamation point.WellWoman2. Exclamation point.
The numbers went as high as tenor twelve, perhaps, moving one tick
higher every time HR in their wisdomforced a change—always at the most
inconvenient moments. I've a newpassword now, by the way, because
I have written this poem, but stillI love to be reminded of the woman
at the well, going about her day whenGod's only son calls on her for a drink
of water, wet and slick and coolin the midst of dusty dryness, soothing,
and the situation makes no senseto her. So she questions. God. Like I
would question even God, I must admitto myself. Until she is the one who [End Page 146]
is asking for something from Him. And,as I replay the story in my mind, I wonder
what password she would choose—LivingWater1. Perhaps?
Rebecca Guess Cantor is the Assistant Provost at Azusa Pacific University and lives in Fullerton, California. Her second book of poetry, The Other Half, is forthcoming from White Violet Press, and her first book, Running Away, was published last year by Finishing Line Press. Her poems have also appeared in Cresset, Mezzo Cammin, Two Words For, The Whale Road Review, Anomaly Literary Journal, and The Lyric among other publications.
