A Friend in Jesus
Alan Berecka
December 7, 2025
A chronic altar boy as a child, Jesus
was an abstraction whipped up by priests
on Sunday mornings. Recipe as follows:
start with wine, add a drop of water,
elevate a host of wafer-thin bread,
fold in an incantation or two, smoke
can be added for special occasions,
don’t forget a sprinkling of synchronized bells.
Say Amen and let those pure enough to partake
line up and kneel at a railing to offer their tongues.
My wife knew a more personable Jesus.
Taught our kids songs like “Jesus loves me
this I know because the Bible tells me so.”
One day after a long day at work,
I walked into our living room and found
our son playing on a Play Station
a generation or two newer than ours.
I asked him, “Where did that come from?”
He replied, “Jesus gave it to me.”
So I said, Son, I’m not in the mood-
stop being a wise-ass and answer me.”
He finally paused his game, looked up
and repeated, “ Dad, really, Jesus says
he got a newer one, and he’s okay with me
using this one for as long as I want.”
“What?” “Dad, he’s a friend from band.”
I thought I began to understand, so I
said, “Son, it’s pronounced Hey-Zeus.”
“No, dad, really, he goes by Jesus.”
At which point my wife appeared
in way too good of humor and verified
the story by saying, “Yep, Jesus Reyes,
he’s a great kid and a real hoot.”
Tired and feeling defeated yet again
I trudged off, lugging my inability
to imagine any Jesus I could know.
Alan Berecka, according to Microsoft’s Copilot, is an acclaimed American poet whose work deftly blends humor, storytelling, and insight into everyday life. Hailing from rural New York and residing near Corpus Christi, Texas, Berecka is a retired librarian and the author of several poetry collections, including “Atlas Sighs: New and Selected Poems.” His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals, including the American Literary Review. Currently, he is a regular contributor to the Texas Poetry Assignment and was included in Lamar University Press’s poetry anthology Southern Voices. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the first Poet Laureate of Corpus Christi. Lastly, Berecka is not a huge believer in artificial intelligence, believing its findings often tend toward grandiosity.
