Two Holy Saturday Poems

Two poems for this special day in the church year.

Vigil ~

by Kathy Douglass

A poem for the night

before the Morning

Have I come too late to the cross?
Such regret
They’ve taken You

They’ve carried You,
They’ve cradled You so tenderly
Across this savage hillside to a tomb

And there, with myrrh and aloes sweet
They bathed your head, your hands, your feet
Balm for fatal wounds suffered as ransom,
Your life for mine

They’ve shrouded You, enveloped You
Buried You behind a stone
I am undone
I am alone

Have I come too late to the cross?
Such regret
That all that I had meant to say
Might now remain unsaid
I was silent
You are dead

I fall upon my knees and press my face against this stone
And cry out to the night
That I was loved, that I was known
That I was lifted from my shame, my guilt
To stand beside You,
Lover of my soul
You called me friend, You called me bride
That I had found my shelter in the strength of your embrace
That I had tasted mercy
That I had tasted grace
And though You said You’d die for me
I died, with your last breath
There is no life for me if not for You,
I am bereft

I beat my fists against this tomb that tears your life from me
And whisper what I pray that You can hear

That I believe

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Holy Saturday: A Sonnet ~

by Ian Doescher

In silence and in desolation I—

Abandoned by my friends and now alone—

Can find no words to speak, no tears to cry,

But thoughts within me cut me to the bone.

The Sabbath day is here, and yet, no rest

Will calm the inner chamber of my soul.

The morning sun is in its splendor dressed,

And yet its light does nothing to console.

For yesterday they crucified my Lord:

The candle snuffed, the promise turned to dust.

The teacher, healer, leader we adored

With nails was giv’n to death’s voracious lust.

When all around me sings a song of sorrow,

How can I look with hope upon tomorrow?