must be an unholy day

the Romans hate us
which is easy
in so easy a hard
and harsh land

but our own
too
our people loathe us
hate us
people scorned within a people scorned
the larger group
too easy to be crying crucify
again
without even a Barabbas
to be freed in
irony of law

no trick for us of
politics
we shall simply be found
and ended
with the teaching
with
the message

and
somehow
maybe because we know the devil
is involved
we know the hatred isn’t Roman
is not
Judean
but something both
deeper and on the surface

temptation within
hatred expressed
in fear
in rage

a human thing
more than any group
even of
promises
or who seem to be the rulers
of the Earth

we many say
in darkness
now
the all of us killed the one
whom
came to save through reconciliation

all of us killed
one
who now is gone
and we wait
without waiting
for
who expects more after the finality
of death

not Roman
not Judean
all of us on either side
and from all sides
from
the wreckage of Eden
where
the devil also won before
finally a curse

and aren’t we all cursed
and now

enough philosophy
or
hoping something out of meditation

rather
now
we turn
we hide away
we wait for
not a thing
worth
the waiting

c l couch


for Holy (also ironic) Saturday

photo by Aleksei Agafonov on Unsplash