Good Friday: Via Dolorosa

I

In the garden you

Sweat in drops of blood, you who

Made the earth blossom

II

And then a kiss

Betrays you with the violence

Of a close friend’s sword

III

By dark, the council

Meets and seals your fate. You let

Your own reject you

IV

While, by firelight,

Your close friend lies, denies you

To keep himself warm

V

In the morning sun,

Amid the screams, the prefect

Washes his hands clean

VI

Scourges eat your flesh

The soldiers taunt you, laugh and

Crown you now with thorns

VII

On your back you bear

The curse of all the world. You

Fall; it crushes you

VIII

A stranger by the way

Shares the weight of the cross, but

Cannot drink the cup

IX

Women weep, lament

But do they cry for you or

For the brown, dead tree?

X

The nails are hammered

You fill your lungs with anguish

While night takes the crowd

XI

But one sees through it:

A thief who sees your kingship

And dwells now with you

XII

Then, last words to she

Who gave you life; the Life, you

Now prepare to leave

XIII

With a cry, you give

Up your spirit; It’s finished,

You proclaim, and die

XIV

Down we take your body,

In the thrall of darkness, to

Its tomb in the garden