When Kevin went [close] to Bethlehem

When Kevin went [close*] to Bethlehem
I think he took great care
To visit all the landmarks, sites
And ancient buildings there

Inside the Church of Annunciation

Exterior of Church of Annunciation

Church of St. Joseph

Between the two churches -- Old Nazareth is down the stairs 

Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes

Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the Sea of Galilee

White Synagogue in Capernaum

Carvings in Capernaum

Western Wall

Dome of the Rock

Azerbaijan was his first stop;

Its airport was no shack,

He carried his belongings
In his trusty old backpack

Beatitude Monastery

I think there on the busy roads
That he was meek and mild

And awed at all the tailgating
That made the driving wild

Perhaps when not in conference hours
He walked through holy lands

View from the Jerusalem Center

River Jordan

The Sea of Galilee

A stone from the time of Christ

And spent some time addressing
All his paper's new demands.

Editing is about as fun as a scorpion

And close beside the Garden Tomb

He dimmed the cell phone light

(From a different site, but still fitting)

And held his thoughts of Jesus close
Upon that holy site.

Ancient trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

*I asked him why he didn't go to Bethlehem, and he said it was hard to get to with public transportation on the weekend. Mary didn't use that excuse 2000 years ago when she was pregnant, but there weren't checkpoints back then either as far as we know.