Golgotha

Golgotha

By

Matt McGuire

The grapes are red
Dawn’s deliberate danger
Can’t see the end of the
Tunnel drowning in the wine
Vinegar gall grasping
For another moment
Last breath exits ephemeral
Clouds of sorrow engulf
The lookers-on killing
Captain of the guards
A centurion’s spearwound
Seals the deal
A meal and the zeal of Simon
Cephas and the dagger
An ear to the ground
The Dead Sea dry and an Essene lie
A carpenter’s lathe and
A crown on high
Baruch h’aba b’shem adonai
Angels sigh serpentine
Sepulcher boyhood brandishes
The ornamentation of innocence
Secrets of
The universe my gift
I offered
I received in kind
A warm welcome from
A headsman and a whore
More souls trod the Straight
Than the narrow
My marrow a Passover feast
The look of uttermost
Malaise murder meat for
The carrion creatures
Fodder for the holy
Wars and a baptism
In blood curdling cries
Baruch h’aba b’shem adonai
Coronation for the end of
Creation myth mellifluous
Maiming of the truth
John sheds tears of vanity
Judas disemboweled
Juxtaposition of currency and catharsis
A catastrophic cashflow
Cast lots not for my garments
But for the pot
The sot and the sod
Savor the flavor
The savior sells
A storm in our sails
Walk the water
Damn the nails
Flails abound and flowers
Die only to save
Saved to die
Baruch h’aba b’shem adonai
Why do you linger
At the foot of the cross
I have gone forth to hell
A heavenly host
Will crush the remnants
Of Babylon’s pride
The tit of the wolf
Gave suck to the devils
Of Roman landscape
Lugubrious folly forget
My name and bury
Me before I stink
Up the joint
Refuse the kiss
The apostolic embrace
I can’t save you
It’s an eye for an eye
I am
And I am
And I
Am I
Baruch h’aba b’shem
Adonai.