Easter Poems

Man of Sorrows

Alone in the night, a man of sorrow
His friends: this vigil they did not keep
In the garden, waiting for the morrow
Praying while his friends are fast asleep

Remember: jubilation as in he rode
The donkey, the crowds’ hosanna cry
Now Judas is coming to this abode
And crowds will soon cry crucify

Where is God? A darkness of the soul
He prays, he weeps, and he fears
The emptiness, the dark, the hole
Nails to come, the pain and tears

He is ready now, calm, still, at peace
To drink the cup, his life to cease

Woman of Sorrows

Alone in the dawn, a woman of sorrow
Anointing the body: a tradition to keep
In the garden, the third day, this morrow
Silence while the world is still asleep

Remember: her Lord, dead, and broken
The crowds depart, as comes the night
It is finished, the last word was spoken
And she is lost, here, dawn’s early light

An empty tomb: they have taken her Lord
She stumbles, and a stranger she spies
Through tears, her heart pieced by a sword
Where have they taken him? She cries

Mary, he says softly, and her pains cease
Rabboni, she says, looking up, and at peace