In commemoration of Good Friday, Justin Hibbard shares an original poem called Pietà, reflecting on the moment when Mary held the body of Jesus after He was lowered from the cross. In the show notes, there are a number of depictions of Pietà if you would like to meditate on the image while you listen to the poem. The text of the poem is also listed in the show notes as well.
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Show Notes:
Music - “Agnus Dei” by Samuel Barber
Pietà by Justin Hibbard
The mother held her son
The last time like the first
Eternity wrapped in swaddling clothes
In a moment
In a loving gaze
An angel’s promise of hope
A sword-piercing pain
The mother held her son
Like Eve held her dead Abel
Her wails echoing through the streets
Of Zion
Through time and space
Even the angel guarding Eden
Felt it move his feathers
Baptizing him in water and wind
He wept
The mother held her son
His head against her breasts
A rose wrapped with thorns
Pushing into her chest
Adam’s curse
Weaved into a crown
The mother held her son
The last time like the first
Covered in blood
First hers
Now his
Salvation in twisted strands of DNA
Filled to the brim
Like new wine
Bursting through skin and flesh
The mother held her son
The last time like the first
Angels stunned
Strangers peering
The Ark exposed
Through a shorn robe
The word of her womb
Now cradled in her arms
She wrapped him in linen
Eternity in swaddling clothes
The first time like the last
And laid him down to rest
In a crèche
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