I thought I saw the risen birds fly up
But they were only fallen leaves — a gust
Of southern wind had made them whirl and leap —
The men around the Crucifix were ghosts
Who disappeared like smoke when flames go out —
Bestial bellowing and mockery
Went still, and only death was there to shout
Its silent thunder, summon death that day
Alone we died together, God of life,
Not heaven's Lord for now, but only One
Who suffers for His love and then forgives
What crushes Him — a double crucifixion
You are my weak deliverer, my strength,
My helpless God who from the highest hill
Called Golgotha can see as far as death
And further toward both paradise and hell
Tell us Lord of life what You have seen,
Be with us now as we are crucified —
Thieves and lovers of Your Holy Name,
We crave the love of Christ we have denied
Show us what You know, beyond all wounds,
Past being and unbeing, save and bless,
For we will climb the hill of anguish soon
To find the dreadful mercy of the Cross
