Thoughts Upon a Good Friday

Thoughts Upon a Good Friday

 (For the Children in the Morning)

Was it worth it after all?

For all the pain and trouble,

do they care?

Your visions as you waited

on your tower

Were complete with all the

wisdom of the ages.

And the panoramic view

of history fore and past

Lay out before you like

an endless tapestry:

Could you see there writ

in cords of red and silver

The mercenary columns on the march?

Can you see the secret dealings

in the back rooms

And the sly and subtle murders

done beneath your banner?

Will you see the darkness in

our minds and still,

with infinite gentleness,

say it’s worth it

after all?

I have not your vantage point

and cannot see, because

I am so close,

What in all this pool of blackness

there could be

to make the dying right.

It is seldom that I take the time

to ponder

the passing of the man,

But when I do I am filled with

terror at the monstrosity of the act:

I am horrified at the necessity of the passing.

Though I have my hurried

comings and goings

And tend to shirk the things

that cause me grief,

Today I will pause here,

for a moment only

To share your infinitely

lonely dying,

You,

the Gentle Watcher from the Tower.

4/12/1974  gwm