And Here I Stand on Fire
“As they led him away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian,who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him,they made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Luke 23:26)
behind him
the burden of the day
heavier by far
than a single bar of wood
But I know
how I fell out
into the road
as they pulled him along
My
breath caught my throat constricted
water streaming down my face
Oh I know
He stumbled he shook
he groaned
and I looked into his bloody eyes
They
never seized me
He did
I grabbed the wood
I could not lift him
from the dirt I could not leave
I could only see his back his legs
II.
When the stumbling stopped
the beasts
pushed me back into the crowd
two women wiped my face
held my hands and stood
with me
until
the silence and the dark descended
They
brought me to the hall
drink what little wine they could spare
it was a falling into nothing
I could dream
Days
and nights made
no
difference
Please
let me cry this to you
we
all grabbed each other and leaned
into
fear
the door disappeared
and I saw
His eyes
his eyes
as steady as a fisher’s net
pulled
me to him
Again I fell
and
never broke the stare
His
hand upon my head
please let me
cry
His hand
and I said
Yes
on fire with his
eyes
his
hand
upon me still
(For the Ordination of Joshua Peters, SJ
20 June 2020)
