At the Cross
Knots of spectators
Gravitate towards the drama
of Death
Slowly playing
with a Man —
And watch to the bitter End.
The Man is watching, too —
The roll of dice
as soldiers gamble
for His clothes
The faces of the folk
fascinated by His pain
(the torture of His hanging
from the nails)
The curl of mouths and twisted eyes
of men who mock his misery.
The Man is listening
to
The rattle of the gamblers’ wood
The gasp of pleasure when the winner’s known
The rise and fall of spoken feelings
The sudden blurt of nonsense from the idlers at His feet.
The shadow on the dial moves Eastward;
The day slips slowly towards eternity
Never to be repeated.
Death strengthens his grip
And the Man
strengthens His grip
upon His Father.
Some see
the Truth.
The rest
Drift
Away
© 1996, Angus McPhee
Adventist Review, March 28, 2002
Illustration: from Salvador Dali’s “Christ of Saint John of the Cross” (1951)
A Look at the books of Daniel and The Revelation 