Thursday, March 28, 2013

Elegy for the Tree (Poetry by Bob Racine)



Golgotha’s cross,

so mute you stand o’er us, bold of blood.
Must we cower before you in our grief,
cast down to the lowliest mud
on the dark side of belief?

Innocence meets in you its solemn end.
Evil is hence no mere mummer’s mask – 
untimely wounds, scars that won’t mend, 
jailer to take the soul to task!

Alas, for the tree as well we mourn!
As a knife is smelted from ore,
so you were born of its riven bark.
We grieve that it drinks sunlight no more,
now a cipher for death and the dark.

Conquer and divide!  your grisly intent – 
to cast aside the feet from the head,
the body’s and soul’s dismemberment,
even the living from the dead!

And that tree that had to die,
stripped naked to give you still birth,
uttered not a solitary cry.
Did it know what its life was worth?

Averse to your stunted embrace,
Quiescent, unconsumed, there seethes
a vestige of bounteous grace,
a breath the seeking soul yet breathes.

The world does well not to ignore
the suffering of the Christ,
for out of sacrifice so sore
has faith been purchased and priced.

But let some at least have a care
 – for the tree!


To read other entries in my blog, please consult its website:  enspiritus.blogspot.com

I welcome feedback.  Direct it to bobracine@verizon.net

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