The History of Things

The History of Things
Archeology of the Heart

Friday, April 2, 2010

Found Holy Week Poems
















1.Palm Sunday

The bright sun of spring beats on the metal,
where it seems only last week
Jesus rode into Jerusalem all triumphant
and gentle on the borrowed white donkey.
Now, in the brittle light,
two interlocking shapes a man can hang from,
are sharp and cruel as I stand in memory.
There was nothing I could say but,
"I'm sorry". There was nothing else

He wanted but those two words
as the blood poured from His heart into mine.

2. Good Friday
It was just us, at the end:
a few women bewildered, some crying,
tears mingling with snot
and whimpers of pain
just looking at Him from this long distance
up; and the ones who just stood:
their lips pressed hard against each other
lest sobs escape like rain
from the thickening clouds...

And then there were the two
completely different from each other,
but the same.
Oh Son,forgive me my early mothering
if it were not good enough
and
My Lord, did I listen close enough...

I was the one who looked up through
the blood, the sweat, Yr agony
and through those clouds,
saw Yr Father, again,
like Noah's, like John's dove descending
and I nodded as the sky broke.

3. Black Saturday

Those men, how could they be sure?
At first, they thought it was a revolution,
then they saw a way out from under roman rule.
It wasn't for days, who realized the mystery
because He hadn't ascended yet. That Dove,
the Breath, the tearing back of the veil
hadn't come yet. There was brooding, doubt,
grief. And the tears of the two Marys.


4. Easter Sunday

She hurried, having slept little,
but saw she was too late, she thought the soldiers had already been there:
she gnashed her teeth and cried.
The messengers in white robes sat waiting to tell her,
and she understood as the one spoke.
On the road to those still sleeping,
she kept repeating: He is going on before us to Galilee.

It was a circle, like a net, a fishing net,
and they were to wait for the Dove, the Breath,
the healing and the Work to begin.

*************
I used The Book of Mark for my interpretation.

No comments:

Post a Comment