Ten Lepers Left (a poem)

¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)

Ten lepers walked the city streets,
and stopped to hear the preacher preach

So close to death, all pride was stripped,
Nothing to lose; so those with lips
Called, “Jesus, help us out a bit?”

“Go, show yourselves unto the priests,”
He said. They scattered, west to east.
Their skin, with cleansing fire burned
Ten lepers left, but one returned.

One day, just to pass the time, 
I thought about the other nine. 
What did they do? Where did they run?
No idea, but just for fun,
Let’s imagine, one by one:

First, there’s Leper Number One
Who took off in an all out run.
Her feet, now free from open sores
Ran like they’d never run before.

Poor old leper number Two
Had no idea what he should do.
So, scarred from years of being shunned
Went home, locked up, and saw no one.

Then there’s leper Number Three
Who found he missed the leprosy
In pain, he found security, 
Until “sick” became his identity
Healed, became a bitter man
And wished he could be sick again.

That accounts for three who were healed that day
Ten lepers left, no lepers stayed.

The fourth one wasn’t very clever,
And made no changes whatsoever. 
In tattered clothes, can still be seen
Through perfect lips, still shouts “Unclean.”


Five and six found love along the way.
Ran off, got married that same day.

So that makes six accounted for
One returned, that leaves three more.

And of those three, there were the two
That wrote “Life from a Leper’s Point of View.”
They gained great fame in lecture halls,
Signed copies of their books in malls.
And on the Oprah Winfrey Show,
Oprah said, “We want to know,
To what do you attribute health?”
“From within,” they said. “We healed ourselves.”

Nine believed prosperity
Should replace his leprosy
With brand new car, and boat, and house
He’s out there living his best life now.

Ten lepers took their separate tracks
Ten lepers left, but one came back.

Came back and fell at Jesus’ feet,
Stayed back to feel His touch so sweet;
To thank Him for the gift he gave,

Ten lepers cured, one leper saved.

One more thought, and then we're through:
Ten lepers left.
Which one are you?