Good God? – a ramble ’round golgotha

טוֹב

“Good” Friday?

That Day

(this day)

That Word – for That Day…

(this day)

always confused me.
then…
I wasn’t confused.
now I’m confused again.

That’s How This Goes.

With all the blood.
all the jeering…

That Inscription.

Jesus of Nazareth –
King of the Jews.

In three languages, lest any should miss it…

Iesus Nazarenus est rex Iudaeorum

ישוע מנצרת, מלך היהודים

Ο Ιησούς της Ναζαρέτ, ο Βασιλιάς των Εβραίων

The ultimate honorific
and the most
outrageous heresy
all at once.

somanycontradictions

גָלגָלתָא

Even the Hebrew
looks menacing

“Golgotha”

The
Place
of
the
Skull

What the actual hell is
“Good” about this day?

Actual. Hell.

קבר

You thought highly enough
of his seamless tunic
to keep it intact

That was nice.

But not Good.

He was crying out in agony
while You thrift-shopped
his stuff.

My God!
My God!
Why have you forsaken me?

“His Stuff”

Just One Garment.

Bust some tags, boys.

אני צמא

He was thirsty,
and you gave him
vinegar on a stick

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

I know, I know,

You were hustling because
sabbath was at sundown.

חטא

Kill him now so you can rest later.
You have rules to keep.

I get it.

Thank GOD he died faster than most.
It fits Your schedule better.
It fits God’s schedule better.

Right?

Oh yeah – God.

אני

“Good Friday”
came from
“God’s Friday”

Still doesn’t make much sense.
None of that makes much sense.
None of THIS makes much sense.

God doesn’t make much sense.

Yet.

That Day, on its own,
will never make sense.

This Day, on its own,
will rarely make sense.

finish the story.
Finish Your Story.

even after what you did.

You don’t yet know The End.

זה נגמר

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NaPoWriMo – Day Three

And now for our prompt. This one is a bit involved, which is why I’m giving it to you on a Saturday. Today, I’d like to challenge you to make a “Personal Universal Deck,” and then to write a poem using it. The idea of the “Personal Universal Deck” originated with the poet and playwright Michael McClure, who gave the project of creating such decks to his students in a 1976 lecture at Naropa University. Basically, you will need 50 index cards or small pieces of paper, and on them, you will write 100 words (one on the front and one on the back of each card/paper) using the rules found here…

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FULL STOP.

There was NO WAY I was making a deck of 100 words just to randomly get a word for a poem.

Instead, I read John 19 (the account of the crucifixion), picked four words that “jumped out”, and started writing.

My words:

• Skull
• Inscription
• Seamless
• Thirsty