Ash Wednesday to Pentecost
The Cruel Implements
- The first lash was an accident
Inside a mine of gold;
Thirteen for muck, thirteen for luck,
Thirteen were bought and sold:
But the walls were high and the walls were thick,
So nobody was told. - The first thorn from a President
In a palace full of rings
Joined thorns of stone and human bone
From emperors and kings:
But the crowning went unwitnessed
As they hated suffering. - The first nail was a precedent
Set down in a decree;
One for the great, one for estate,
A last for property:
But as long as there is argument
We still have liberty. - The scimitar's hilt was an ornament
To artifice and grief
With filigree veins and bloody stains
In clots of bas relief:
But its blade was the final reckoning
For the soul of a dying thief. - The Holy Cross was a testament
Barbaric, cruel and raw
Yet its wood was sold and dipped in gold
To edify the poor:
But would Jesus fare much better
If he came to earth once more?
