A POEM FOR LENT
I
scan Google Images
looking
for a depiction of the Crucifixion
to
illustrate a Lenten poem on my blog
I’m
unable to look squarely at the pictures—
Many
are so heart-wrenching, so gruesome
I
have to turn away
I
think of the four Gospels
providing
matter-of-fact statements
to
tell us Jesus was crucified
sparing
us details
of
His suffering
Oh,
I’m well aware
it
is 2000 years later
and
no holds are barred
when
it comes to portrayals of violence
I
go to the movies
I
watch TV
I’ve
squirmed through
The Passion of the
Christ
with
my heart beating fast
and
eyes tightly closed
during
the bloodiest sequences
I’ve
read A Doctor at Calvary[1]
in
which each and every stain
on
the Shroud of Turin
is
elaborated upon
in
minute medical detail
I
do not need
more
graphic words and pictures
My
mind’s eye sees
His
thorn-crowned Head
His
nail-pierced hands
My
mind’s ear hears
Father, forgive them…
…why hast Thou forsaken Me?
It is finished.
At
last, I click on an image—
a
crossbeam, a circle of thorns
and
three nails
I
post it to the blog
insert
my poem
and
shudder
a
most grateful shudder
that
Jesus, my beloved Savior
endured
that terrible Cross
for
me
Maude
Carolan Pych
[1] A Doctor at Calvary by Pierre Barbet,
M.D., published by Image Books, a division of Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden
City, NY
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