Unexpected Paradise

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He was there,
unexpected.
The moment wasn't planned.
He would never have chosen to be victimized in such a way.
Still, he was run down in the street, like a rabid dog.
They could have killed him right there,
but that wouldn't be as much fun.

Brought before a judge
who had determined his fate
before ever allowing the whip to strike flesh.
He carried the beam,
following the others.
He fell, once.
No one noticed.  No one cried.
No one helped him with his burden.
He wasn't loved.

So how is it,
that he is lifted up
beside the one he never listened to?
Never had the man's voice interrupted his plotting.
Never had he listened to a parable,
or even wondered why the religious fools called him a blasphemer.

And then the third curses.
He taunts the one Simon of Cyrene assisted.
He taunts the one for who tears were shed.
He's done nothing wrong.
We deserve our fate.
Those thoughts hold a siege on his painfilled mind.

The words leave his mouth,
unplanned.
What is the worst they can do,
end his pain?
Remember me Lord in paradise.
Remember me when you step into glory.
Remember me when all my sin is forgotten.



copyright 2023 - Donald P James Jr




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