#poem #poetry #amwriting #napowrimo calvary

calvary

the mid afternoon pimpling breeze
   chills to the bone
   as we break from the shelter of the trees
      to stand in the avenue of calvary
                             on the hill

we move from station to staion
until we reach the money shot of the nails

jesus - forcibly reclining -
held by a nail through the left hand -
carries an expression similar to I
   when rolling from bed
      or standing from a chair
   when the knees click in
take up balance and the weight

at first I find this amusing
   but on reflection perhaps
film has made us too accustomed
to violence and pain as grimaced
                                    overblown

and maybe the mason is closer to the truth
   jesus is simply saying 'oh'
   held by one hand
   he awaits the auxillary working on his feet
and recognises that for all the theatre
   his ordeal is just beginning
and now he is really going to learn
the nature of human form

as we all must
when powerless

only later do I see - in the photograph -
that the nose and beard is missing
   what I took as a mouth
   is a peg hole

oddly apt
that on these greening stones
nature and time
have offered in simplicity
a view we should consider


The Blue Book